Coming Home
by Sister of the Moon
Summary: Jason left on that Valentines day in the park. When he returns a few years later with a son and a wedding ring, what will Elizabeth think? She doesn't know his wife died and he doesn't know that she doesn't love Ric. Can they find a way to be together?
1. Returning

**Coming Home:** Returning

Hey there everyone! Yes, this is a new work in progress. Its slightly AU, well, more like back in time. I know I was planning on finishing up Together before this went up, but I'm so far ahead it doesn't really matter.

Everything up to Jason asking Elizabeth to come with him and leave town happens. Elizabeth says no and Jason leaves town. From there he ends up not working for Sonny anymore. He travels around the globe and ends up meeting Isabella, whom he marries and has a child with. After Isabella dies Jason and his four-year-old son, Rider, move back to Port Charles. For my wants, Jason is 25 – I don't want that much of an age gap, though it doesn't really matter. All of the things Elizabeth went through on the show happened. She and Lucky ended up breaking up after the whole mind control thing was over. She is now with Ric, who is NOT Sonny's brother. But she's been regretting not going with Jason that day. She has feelings for Ric but can't help but want another chance with Jason. There is no Courtney in this story. Emily has not had breast cancer either. She is home though and played by Amber Tamblyn. And still with Zander, though it won't come up too much.

If anyone has any questions, email me or ask it in a review. Speaking of reviews, I'm letting everyone know now that I am just feeling things out with this story. If you want me to post what I have of it, then you've got to let me know. That's up to all of you. For some reason I have been in this insane writing mood, in fact, this month alone I've posted two new WIPs and one song fic/one shot. Of course, by the time I get around to posting this (today is January 22nd) there could be more.

As of today (August 23, 2004) I have twenty-two chapters.

----------------------------------Corinthos Penthouse

Michael Corinthos ran around the room with his plane, pretending to be a pilot while his mother encouraged him with her laughing. Sonny shook his head with laughter also. Though, inside, he was in anything but a laughing mood.

His best friend was coming back home. And to the Corinthos' that was more than enough of a cause for celebration. In addition to that, Jason was brining his son with him. Sonny had been over the moon at that phone call. He'd only met the little boy twice. And from what he had seen, Rider was very much like his father.

But it was everything else that had him worried. Jason had made it clear that he would not be returning to the business. Which was fine with Sonny. If anything, he was happy that his friend was out. He had a son to take care of now. Jason didn't need the money, he no longer looked for danger has had he'd once done, and he had something to live for. While Sonny had been fine with that, it was the rest of the people of Port Charles that would have a problem with it. The five families might not trust that Jason would keep quiet about the inner workings of Port Charles like he was. And that made him nervous.

It could make Jason and his son a target. And that worried the hell out of him. Also, the idiots of the Port Charles Police Department wouldn't buy that Jason no longer worked for him that easily. All of it was a security nightmare. And now that Jason wasn't his partner anymore, it meant that he was a family member Sonny would need to protect from the mob. Jason's son included.

Carly glanced over to him worried. She knew that Sonny was trying his hardest to not show her his fears. But she knew him. Though, hopefully seeing Jason again would calm him down.

------------------------------------Quartermaine Mansion

Emily paced the room after getting off the phone with her brother. He was coming home. And he had asked her only one favor.

Tell the family.

He'd said that he didn't want to shock them when he arrived at the mansion. Also he wanted them on their best behavior when they saw his son when he came over the next day for breakfast. So that meant warning them before hand. Sounded easy to the casual observer. But that was if you didn't know the Quartermaines.

They knew that Jason had a son and was married. But that was about it. Lila knew all about her brother's life outside of Port Charles, and she and Emily were the only ones of the family that had all of the information. Emily wasn't too keen on giving out all of the info to the family. She was happy that he was coming home, and that she got to see her nephew again. But she was worried about Jason. His wife had just died three months ago after all. And now Jason alone was raising a four-year-old boy. Yes, a mature extremely smart four year old, but still.

Emily had actually been somewhat amazed by Jason's son. Not only did he look exactly like Jason with the higher cheekbones, ice blue eyes, tanned skin and blonde hair. But he seemed to be like Jason in other respects too. You had to earn Rider's trust, if not he was quieter and very to the point. But once he started to trust you, he let you see a whole other side. That was where he got somewhat different from Jason. More like his mother. Rider could be extremely funny and loud once you got to know him. He was always smiling and ready to make you smile with him. He was more talkative than his father. Though, they both had the same mannerisms.

And not to mention that Jason's son was smart as hell. She didn't know many four year olds who could point out to you almost any constellation in the night sky. Also Rider was a pretty good reader for someone two years ahead of the game. While he loved the travel books that his father read with him, he was also a fairy tale lover. Those he read alone generally. At least now he did. Emily remembered Isabella to be a bit of a dreamer, the fairy tales were something she passed to her son. He hadn't gotten it from Jason. The travel books and at least one fact about most countries were what he had gotten from Jason, reading material wise.

Emily was startled out of her thoughts by the sounds of the family's yelling. Deciding that she might as well just tell them now while they were all together, Emily hurried down the stairs to the den.

"Edward, you leave AJ alone!" Her mother's voice called out. Emily rolled her eyes and opened the door to the den.

"Monica, I will not have you coddle him!" Edward told her, yelling equally as loud.

"Um, guys? If you could all take a AJ bashing break, I have something you need to know." Emily told them. They all stopped for a second to look at her.

"Are you alright, sweetheart?" her mother asked her as she walked closer. Emily took a second to take stock of the room's occupants. Her parents, brother, grandparents and cousin were the all there. At least she wouldn't have to go through this more than once.

"Yeah, I'm fine Mom. I just have some news."

"Well, get on with it!" Edward encouraged. He threw his arms in the air to signify his impatience.

Rolling her eyes Emily started up, "Well, Jason asked me to tell everyone that he and his son are coming home. And that they are coming here for breakfast tomorrow." Emily then braced herself for the blast.

But surprisingly enough it didn't come. Edward just blinked. Ned smiled, being the one who was very fond of his cousin. AJ looked mildly surprised. But it was her parent's reaction that broke her heart. They looked so happy and hopeful. She suddenly remembered how much they loved and missed Jason.

Monica's hand was to her mouth. "Really Emily? He's coming home?" Alan held his breath as he waited for Emily's answer. He had desperately wanted a second chance with his youngest son. And now that Jason had a son it only intensified the need.

"Jason and Rider are really coming back to Port Charles." Emily assured them.

"Rider?" Edward questioned, with a frown. Emily mentally slapped herself, they didn't know what Jason had named his son.

"Jason's son. Rider Alan Morgan. He's four. And looks amazingly like Jason." Emily said. She saw her father's sharp intake of breath at the name Jason had chosen for his son. Emily herself didn't know what made Jason add the Alan for a middle name.

"Rider Alan?" her father asked. The amazement and joy were clearly present in his voice. Shock was also tinged in his voice. Emily couldn't blame him, she'd been surprised too. When she had asked Jason if Rider was named after their father, he'd said yes. But would remain quiet whenever she asked him why. She hadn't pushed the issue too much at the time. It was her first visit of four to Jason and Isabella's home. Rider had been an infant at the time, a cute on at that. After that she went back for two weeks out of each summer. It wasn't a bad deal. They lived on an island, so in addition to seeing her brother and nephew she also got to be on one of the best beaches she had ever seen.

"Jason said the Alan was after you. But every time I asked why, he just got quiet. I don't know why he put Alan in there. You can ask him yourself tomorrow when he and Rider come by. Maybe you'll have better luck than I did. Of course, I didn't try that hard, it was difficult to formulate words around Rider he was so cute." Emily smiled.

"And how is he doing Emily? Rider also, I have been most worried." Lila asked her. They had both been worried about the condition of Jason and Rider since the death of Isabella.

"Why would you be worried Grandmother?" Ned chimed in.

Emily winced, forgetting that little detail. "Jason's wife and Rider's mother, Isabella, died in a fire three months ago. That's what made him decide to come home I think."

-------------------------------------Port Charles Airport

Rider clung to his father during the landing. The little boy usually had no problems with planes. In fact, they had traveled often with him. But landings and take off generally scared him. Jason usually tried to get him to sleep before them but today his son was too excited.

"Its gonna crash!" the four year old cried out, just like he did every single time. Jason held him tighter and kissed his forehead.

"We aren't going to crash, Ri." He assured him. The plane backed up his words as they rolled to a safe stop. Rider slowly loosened the death grip he had on his father. Then he anxiously looked out the tiny window.

"Are we there?"

"Yeah, we're there." Jason informed him as he got up and put all of Rider's toys back in the carry on bag they'd brought with them. The plane door opened and Johnny and Francis walked in, grinning from ear to ear.

"Hey man! Welcome home." Johnny greeted as he clapped Jason on the back. Jason watched Rider eye the two men cautiously. As Francis moved to shake Jason's hand and greet him Rider came over and reached his arms up for Jason to pick him up. What looked like a simple gesture to the other two men, or even that they made the little boy nervous wasn't the truth for Jason. He knew his son had come over to try and protect his father. After Rider's mother died he had become protective of his remaining parent.

"Hey Rider! I'm Johnny, and this brute here is Francis. Don't worry about him though, he fights like a girl." Johnny teased. He held his hand out for Rider to shake. Rider looked to see his father nod in reassurance and then proceeded to slap Johnny five.

"Hi."

"Don't listen to him Rider, I'm not a brute. And I don't fight like a girl. But if you really want to know whose the girly one here, its Johnny, he sings along to Barry Manilow in the car." Francis informed the blondes. Rider did the same ritual as he had with Johnny for Francis. All the while Johnny pretended to give Francis the death glare.

"I don't want any music playing in the car then!" Jason declared, smiling. He suddenly felt better about his choice to return home.

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Liason is coming into play next chapter. That is, if there is a next chapter! All up to you guys. Please, let me know what you think. Also if you want more. If you do want me to continue updating, I'll be updating once every week, mostly in part to the fact that this story is pre-written and pretty much done. Once a week on the same day would mean that you all don't have to wait weeks for updates cause I'm lazy. And if I set it to just once a week, I won't be tempted to go post chapter after chapter. Just letting you all know.

**REVIEW! PLEASE! **


	2. Welcome Home, Jason

**Coming Home:** Welcome Home, Jason

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Hi there! Thanks for all of the reviews guys. As you can see, this fic is being continued for now. This chapter is actually going to be longer. I warn you now. I'm doing reviewer responses at the bottom! 

We're going to say that the last chapter happened closer to the night. This chapter starts at night too. Also, this takes place in mid August.

--------------------------------------Corinthos Penthouse

Sonny hung up the phone with a smile. "Carly, they're on their way here." Sonny could feel some of the weight being lifted off his shoulders. Jason had a way of making things easier to deal with.

Carly smiled happily. "I can't wait to see him! And Rider, I bet he's grown. Did Jason mention to you where he and Rider are staying?" she asked him slowly. Truth was, she'd already prepared Jason's old penthouse for his arrival. She hoped that he would be staying across the hall.

"His old penthouse. He says thank you for airing the place out and decorating it for him" Sonny said with a sly smile.

"How did you know!? And how did he know?" Carly questioned him. She was smiling fully though. She'd have Jason and Rider across the hall from them. She'd have her full family back. And that was all that mattered to her. She had missed Jason since the moment he left town. And the visits they did have were far too short. Even though they stayed for a long time.

Sonny led her over to the couch. "Well, Jason asked me if he could have the penthouse back until he decided where he wanted to live. I said yes and then asked Johnny to go over and get it ready. But he said you were already one step ahead of us. So when I called Jason back I told him that you'd already decorated it for him."

Carly sat down, grinning like a kid on Christmas. This was way better than Christmas though, which was saying something. Her husband was a good gift buyer. "I knew he'd stay there. I can't wait to see the look on his face when he sees how good it looks. This is great Sonny! Jason's home, Rider's coming to live here too, and they're living right next to us."

Sonny smiled at her enthusiasm. "Yeah, its pretty damn good. Everything's ready for them. I just have to convince Jason to take a guard." He lost his smile for the end sentence though. He felt his dread coming back to him full force.

Carly was shocked. "Guard? You mean for Rider right?" even though she knew he meant one for Rider and one for Jason. 

"Yes, for Rider. But I want Jason to have a body guard of his own too." Sonny frowned, "You think he'll let me?" he asked her skeptically. He wouldn't back down on this with Jason. But he still would like Jason's permission though. Even if he didn't get it there would be someone assigned to his friend. Whether or not Jason knew it. Sonny could already hear the argument that would ensue when and if Jason ever found out that Sonny'd had him followed.

She sighed, she knew that Sonny was worried, she just didn't think he was that worried. "I think he'll kill you for even asking something like that. He'll take the guard for Rider. But not for himself. I couldn't see Jason agreeing to a bodyguard following him all around the town. Is it really that important?" she asked slowly, she was hoping that he would let her in on his thought process, even though it partly fell under the "business" section of their lives. Though, when family was involved heavily, he did fill her in, and this counted under that little loophole. Luckily for her.

"I don't know. I don't know how the five families are going to take his reappearance. They may not be convinced that he is out of the business. Even if they do, they won't believe that Jason will stay loyal and not sell us out to the cops. They could try to ensure that he won't ever get to talk to anyone about the workings of my territory or theirs. That and Faith Roscoe is still sniffing around. She could use him to get to me. I just want to make sure that no one tries anything. Besides, he's not in this anymore Carly. I have to protect him from it all now. Just like you and Michael." Sonny said as he ran his hand across his face while sighing heavily.

Carly was spared having to comfort her husband when the door to their penthouse opened and Johnny and Francis came in, lugging bags behind them. Behind them came the familiar blondes.

Rider held his father's hand as they walked through the door. Carly only had eyes for Jason at the moment though.

"Jase!" She squealed as she ran to him. Jason let go of Rider's hand to scoop Carly up for a hug. He had missed her. Even the prying side of her. Not like he'd be telling her that though. He could only imagine the type of things she'd do if she knew that little bit of information.

"Hey Carly." He greeted by whispering in her ear. "Um, can you loosen up the grip there?" he asked her jokingly.

Carly gave him a once over after he put her down. "Still the hottie I saw in Jakes. I can't believe you're here!" she said.

Sonny walked up and gave Jason a hug. "Good to see you man, welcome home."

"Thanks Sonny." Jason said as he hugged back. After they broke apart Jason bent down and easily lifted Rider into his arms. "Rider, you remember Aunt Carly and Uncle Sonny, right? They came to see us last spring?"

"Yeah, I remember. Hi." Rider greeted. He'd liked them when he met them. They stayed a whole month. And they had a son named Michael, they said that he was Rider's cousin. He scanned the room to see if Michael was there. He liked having a cousin, even if he was slightly older. Michael was cool.

Carly knew what he was looking for. "Michael's at his grandma's. He'll be home soon. But he said to tell you hi."

Rider smiled. "Cool. Daddy? Can we go see?" He asked anxiously. He couldn't wait to see his new room. Plus the rest of their house. He was sad to leave their first house, but excited for the new one all the same.

Jason laughed. "Okay, come on." The two turned around and left the Corinthos' penthouse and walked across the hall to their new home. Jason was slightly worried to see what Carly had done to the place.

The two opened the door with Carly quick at their heels.

"Wow, cool." Rider said. Carly beamed that she'd earned the boy's approval.

"Rider, you room is the second one on the left upstairs, why don't you go see it?" Carly suggested slowly. She was quite proud of that room. It was a darker blue color. It had a star theme to it. She'd even had someone come in and paint constellations on the ceiling in glow in the dark paint.

"Can I, Daddy?" Rider asked enthusiastically. Jason nodded, smiling, at him and Rider was gone in seconds.

"So, Jase, what do you think?" Carly asked slowly. She paused for a second just in time to hear the boys muffled reaction from upstairs. And gathering from what she could hear, it was a good one. All she had left was to see if Jason liked what she had done to the place.

It was nothing fancy. She had tried to envision Jason when she decorated the place. It had a slightly beach air to it, to make them seem more at home. She had chosen brighter colors and comfy furniture.

"Carly, I love it. Thank you for doing this." Jason said, smiling at her. "So, where's the pool table?" he asked her.

Carly rolled her eyes, "Don't you even dare."

-------------------------------------The Next Morning -- Jason's Room

Jason squinted against the sunlight streaming through the windows. He felt little hands shaking him.

"Daddy! Daddy wake up, we have to go to see Aunt Emily!" Rider shouted at him. Jason groaned, again wishing Rider was more of a sleeper, just like he did every morning. His son woke up at the sound of a twig snapping. Also, he didn't need a alarm clock, seeing as Rider had a built in internal clock. While it didn't matter now, seeing as Rider could tell time, there had been a time when he would tell his son it was later or earlier than it really was, and was then given a accusatory gaze. He caught Jason every single time.

"What time is it?" Jason groaned before turning on his side to face the wide-awake four year old. Why was it that every morning at eight he woke up? Isabella had a early morning hostess job at the hotel on the island. So she was out the door by six every morning. Jason had chosen the much easier route of owning his own car and motorcycle repair shop. And considering that his shop was the only one on the island, let alone the only one in a five hundred mile radius, it got a lot of business. Since Rider wasn't in school yet he went to work with Jason each day. Whenever they had a break, or a slow day, they were beachside. Isabella - whose job hours went from six to ten in the morning, twelve to two, and then five to nine at night, as did the restraunt in the hotel's open hours – would join them whenever she could.

The thoughts of his son's morning wake up time reminded him of the bedtime he had. Things went slightly differently at the island. Most children went to bed later at night, since the sun set so late. Rider had a bedtime of eleven at night. Something he wouldn't be able to keep here in Port Charles. Jason groaned again at the thought of breaking that habit.

"Its eight thirty. I tried to wake you up before, but you didn't so I went and watched cartoons for a while." Rider explained as he jumped on the bed and sat next to Jason.

"We don't have to go to the Quartermaines until ten Buddy." He reminded his son.

"I know. But I thought we could go swimming." The four year old said slyly. Usually they didn't go swimming until after breakfast and after Jason had checked in at the shop.

Jason sat up a bit more, slowly becoming awake. "Ri, remember when I told you there weren't any beaches here?"

Rider's smile fell. "Oh yeah."

Jason felt bad, he didn't want to bum Rider out about living here. "We can go and look at the boats on the docks if you want." He offered, hoping it would be something that could get Rider's mind off of the lack of beaches in Port Charles.

Rider's smile lit up again. "Yeah, lets go!" then he ran from the room to go get dressed. Jason looked over to see the clock, eight forty-five. He would never get used to being awake so early.

-------------------------------------The Docks -- Twenty Minutes Later

Rider held his fathers hand as they walked to the docks. It was pretty cool today so he was running around in jean overalls with a t-shirt underneath. His father was in his customary jeans and a t-shirt also. The two walked silently. Jason was looking around, taking in all the old sights and getting used to being home. Rider, however, was looking around in awe of his new home.

After a bit they reached the docks. "See? All those boats out there?" Jason asked Rider. There were always fishing boats on the island, but not the massive yachts that he was pointing out to his son.

Jason was kneeling down next to Rider, on his son's height level. Jason couldn't help but look up at Elizabeth's studio window. Emily had told him everything that had gone on in Elizabeth's life since he'd left. Also, that she was now with a man named Ric Lansing. Jason hadn't even met the man and already he didn't like him.

He was wondering if she would even want to see him anymore. She'd basically had no contact with him in a little over four years. Would she even care that he was in town again. And if she did, what would she think about Rider? Jason shook his head, clearing his thoughts, he wouldn't think about her right now.

"Daddy? What's wrong?" Rider asked him. He had been talking to his Dad for a few minutes, but Jason hadn't responded. His protective side was out and Jason mentally cursed himself for making Rider worry.

"What? I'm sorry Ri, I didn't mean to zone out. What did you say?" Jason asked apologetically.

"I asked what that island over there is. It looks like a castle in one of my books." Rider asked as he pointed out across the water.

Jason looked to where his son was pointing, all thoughts of Elizabeth momentarily forgotten. "Its called Wyndemere. Aunt Emily's friend Nikolas lives there."

The two continued looking out over the water.

--------------------------------------Elizabeth's Studio

Her painting was going all-wrong. Why was it that she'd been in a rut for the last four months? She couldn't understand why everything she painted came out terrible. Of course, she thought all of this while keeping herself from mentally going over the amount of months she'd been with Ric.

She cared about him, yes. But he seemed to care about her much more. They'd been going out for a while now, five months maybe. And she'd barely let him get past kissing her.

She also tried to push out her conversation with Emily from her mind. Emily had said that Jason was home now. And that a lot had happened with him. Every time she tried to ask Emily what she meant by that, her friend would just say that Jason would tell her what he wanted her to know, when he wanted her to know. The only information she'd let Liz know was that he was healthy and safe. And living here permanently. Or as permanent as Jason Morgan's schedule allowed.

Her mind couldn't help but run over all of the possibilities that could happen. Could they be friends again? Or maybe more, like she'd been wanting for years. And as much as she hated herself for admitting it, she'd leave Ric in a second if it meant that she could be with Jason. She knew that the reason they'd never really worked out was because she'd choose everyone else around her but him. Everyone over him.

She wouldn't do that anymore. To hell with everyone else's needs. It was about time she took care of her own. The only person who's needs came before hers from now on, was Jason. 

She put her paintbrush down and walked to her window. How many times had she convinced herself that she would see him looking up at her if she looked hard enough? He never did.

He was ever going to. Or at least, she thought that he wouldn't. He was home now, he could be waiting for her. He could be on the mountain roads, wishing she were there. Or waiting at Jakes for her.

Elizabeth rolled her eyes at her own thoughts. Me me me. How self-centered could she get? She looked down out her window.

And she blinked.

Then she blinked again.

But no matter how many times she did blink, he was still there when her eyes opened. Elizabeth ran to her door and rushed out, hoping he would still be there when she got to the docks.

--------------------------------------The Docks

Elizabeth ran as fast as she could. She reached the stairs to the docks and slowed down. He was there. He hadn't gone anywhere. At least now she could make sure that he didn't hate her for not following out of town with him when he asked her four years ago.

But it was his companion she hadn't noticed before. A little boy with slightly curly blonde hair. He couldn't have been more than a kindergartener. Jason was pointing out boats to the boy. She strained her hears to hear anything that might clue as to who the child was, but couldn't hear them.

Jason felt himself and Rider being watched. But he didn't feel threatened by whoever it was. It only took him a few seconds to determine who the stare belonged to, but then he knew it.

Elizabeth.

He stood up quickly and turned around. He only had to scan the area for a second before finding her, watching him. Rider turned to see why his father wasn't talking to him anymore. He noticed his gaze was fixed on a spot past him. Rider turned around and saw what Jason was looking at. Or, rather, who. His worry subsided a bit. At least his Dad hadn't zoned out again.

Elizabeth felt suddenly stupid after being caught watching him. She slowly walked down the steps and towards the twin sets of ice blue eyes. In the back of her mind, she knew who the boy was, but she didn't want to listen to what her mind was telling her.

"Hi Jason. Emily told me you were back." She said, tentatively. The stares she was receiving were a bit unnerving. As if Jason's alone wasn't intense enough. The small boy had an identical one to Jason.

Jason smiled at her. "Yeah, we just got back last night."

Elizabeth knew she shouldn't pry, but she couldn't help it. "We?"

Jason looked down at the boy and picked him up easily. "We. Elizabeth, this is my son Rider. Ri, this is my friend Elizabeth. I knew her when I lived here before. She's your Aunt Emily's best friend." Jason explained.

Son? Jason had a son? If he had a son then he must be married, or at least have had a girlfriend. Elizabeth's eyes zoned in on his hand.

A wedding band.

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Hehe, well, will she jump to conclusions? You'll just have to see. Up next is the rest of the Liason/Rider talk. And the Quartermaine breakfast. **PLEASE REVIEW!**

**Thewretchedchild- **_You aren't the first one to call me evil. LOL. You'll see about what Elizabeth does and does not know as time goes on, Jason too. I won't spoil it. I'm glad you've got faith in me though! As for the four or five days thing, I'll think about it. It is a lot of time, I realize, I just don't want to go too fast or two slow. Especially with school starting soon. Though, considering that a lot of my stories haven't been updated in quite some time (...no comment), if figured that everyone would be happy to have a once a week guarantee! LOL. Thanks for the review!_

**Skritchie- **_Awesome? Thank you very much._

**Underscored- **_I know exactly what you mean. Jason hasn't had any mysterious kids come back to town with him, but he's so good with kids anyway. Which is partly why I started this story. Thanks for the review, I'm glad you like it._

**Amanda- **_I'm happy to know you're enjoying the direction. Hopefully I won't veer off into something you won't like, though I can say that there aren't any bizarre evil twists along the way...well...not that bad. LOL, thanks for reviewing._

**LizzieBella- **_I love that name too! I'm a big fan of the unique ones, which Rider is. You don't come across many people with that name. Thanks!_

**Chawkchic- **_I wouldn't want you to cry! So, there you go, another chapter, don't start the waterworks! LOL. Thanks for the review!_

**Joy-** _You'll get a much better idea of how Jason's kid is in some future chapters, I think chapters four and six have a lot of Rider in them. (I wrote all that so long ago that it's hard to remember what chapter is what number!). So those are coming up soon. I do like writing him though. Thanks for the review!_

**Lily- **_Promising, hu? Well, yay!_

**Isabelle- **_Liason interaction comes up very soon – I mean, more then the next chapter. And don't worry, I will be continuing to update!_

**Liasonfan- **_I do believe that crazy might be a good description of me! :-) But I'll be okay with this story because I'm so far ahead of what you guys are reading (I'm in the middle of writing chapter twenty-two). As for Cameron, I do believe you mean that baby? As you might be able to tell, I do not watch GH at all anymore. So, no, Liz doesn't have him in this story. Sorry if that's a disappointment. Thanks for the review._

**Jessa- **_I thought it was pretty cute of a name myself (obviously, since I used it in a story, LOL)! Glad to know I've been agreed with. Liason comes up soon, so don't worry. Thanks for reviewing!_

**Saydeeatx- **_Your want is my command (well, in this case...)! I will be continuing! Like I've said to almost everyone above you (liason seems to be the topic of all questions, meaning, when do we get more!? LOL) – Jason and Liz do continue their talk next chapter, and there will soon be more._

**Tracey- **_Here's another chapter, hopefully you'll have some comments sprung from it! Thanks for the review!_

**Molinhas- **_Don't worry, I'm continuing. I'm happy you love it, and I hope you'll continue to do so!_

**This story is dedicated to Sam, who helped me with the with this whole story every step of the way. She encouraged me, and bugged me. I would still be on chapter five if she hadn't been such an amazing reviewer - and up until now, the only person I had to go by since I hadn't posted. She read each chapter and then gave me some of the most amazing reviews you've ever seen. Which then inspired me even more. As Sam and I like to put it, she's not just my beta, and I'm not just hers. We're eachothers muses. And, for this story, my muse couldn't get enough. So again, this is for Sam. Love ya, sister! **


	3. Breakfast

**Coming Home:** Breakfast

* * *

Thanks for all of the reviews last time. I gotta tell you guys, Sam and I are having a blast hearing your opinions on things. I've really only just had her to go by for a long time. Its fun for me (and her) to hear what other people think and like or dislike. Keep your speculations and thoughts coming here people!

I don't know if I've mentioned this, but I picture Sean Kanan as AJ. And Emily is Amber Tamblyn. So if there's any reference to AJ or Emily in the story that doesn't quite match up to the image that you may have of him (AJ a-la Billy Warlock and Emily played by Natalia Livingston) then just change it in your mind okay?

**---------------------------------------The Docks**

He had a son. And a wedding band. That was what Emily had meant. A lot had changed with him. And she wanted Elizabeth to hear it from him. Jason was married and had a son.

She knew she had no right to be upset. Or even surprised. Jason was amazing. And not to mention a handsome guy. What woman wouldn't try to get him? Hell, half the women in town all couldn't help but stare. They might think he was a cold unfeeling killer, but they agreed that the boy was a Greek god.

And she was the fool that had let him get away. She let a guy who was understanding, patient, and kind get away. Out of obligation to another man. One that in the end had only broken her heart, no matter how much he tried to prevent that from happening. She was ready to slap herself.

Elizabeth looked over at Jason, her mind clearing. He was giving her a concerned look. She then realized that she'd probably been standing there for a while.

"Nice to meet you Rider." Elizabeth said to the small boy, she did have to talk sometime. She studied Rider as he clung to his father. He was cute, that was for sure. He looked a lot like Jason. Same mouth, eyes, cheekbones and hair. They were both tanned. The only real difference they had was their noses. But other than that, if Jason were a child again, that was exactly what he would look like.

Rider didn't smile back at her, he was more watching her carefully. "Hi.". He saw how his Daddy looked at her. And he knew that he must like her, a lot. So if she made his Daddy happy, that was a good thing. But he still wanted to wait and see. Aunt Emily said she was really nice, and she painted pictures. But if she was a really good friend, then she would have come to see them on the island. So either something bad had happened or they were sorta friends. But Rider thought that his first thought was better. You didn't look that happy to see just a sorta friend.

She seemed really nice though. And she looked like she had been really surprised about him. Didn't Aunt Emily tell her about him and Daddy? She must not have, because Elizabeth looked like she hadn't ever heard about him.

"Rider and I are heading over to the Quartermaine's for breakfast in a while." Jason

informed her. "He hasn't met them yet."

Elizabeth smiled. "Well, they aren't that bad. They're just really loud." She told Rider. Which was entirely true. As if Jason couldn't have shocked her enough, now he was telling her that he was voluntarily bringing his child to the Quartermaine Mansion? What was he trying to do, give her a heart attack? If so then he was doing a really good job.

"That's what Daddy said. And Aunt Carly, and Uncle Sonny, and Aunt Emily." Rider told her, smiling as he moved his head back and forth for each name. He liked her. She seemed nice.

Jason smiled at the way the two of them were getting along. Rider was being more open with her than he did with most new people. And Elizabeth was smiling away at them. He knew he'd shocked her with the news that he had a son. But he couldn't get into all of that in front of Rider. So he'd have to find her later. "Do you know what time it is?" Jason asked her, suddenly remembering that they had to be at the Quartermaines at ten.

Elizabeth hadn't brought a watch with her but mentally tried to guess the time. "It was about 9:30 when I left my studio." She told him. "You have to go?"

"Yeah, sorry. Do you still work at Kelly's?" Jason asked, it would make meeting her somewhere easier. Then again, he knew where her studio was, so it wouldn't be too hard to track her down if he had to.

"Uh-hu. Still a waitress. I'm beginning to think some things will never change." She joked. Truth was she was thinking about opening her own art gallery soon. But why bore him with the details? He had enough to contend with being that he was heading into the war zone known as 66 Harbourview Road.

"Good." Jason said with a small smile, still mysterious as ever. Something's really did stay the same. It was comforting. At least she still knew some of him. She wished that she could say that she knew him the best out of everyone. But for him to have a wife, the woman must know him pretty damn good. She knew she no longer had that place in his life. That it was another woman's now. But she couldn't help but wish that part of him still belonged to her.

"Well, I'll let you guys go. Good luck with the Quartermaines, Rider." She again smiled at him. What would she give for that little boy to be hers?

Elizabeth was shocked at her own thought. What was going on in her head? She'd managed to keep a lid on all of her feelings for him for so long. But suddenly seeing him back in town and in front of her had caused her mind and heart to let them all go. All of the dreams she'd had while he was gone, all of the hopes she'd had during her time with Ric, had all been set free and were now ruling her heart. And now they were squashed. He had a wife and a son. He'd moved on.

And she couldn't blame him in the slightest.

"Bye Lizzie." Rider said with a small wave. He grinned at her and Elizabeth couldn't help but smile back. There was something about the little boy that made her heart leap with joy. And it wasn't even entirely because he was Jason's son. Rider Morgan was just a person who had the ability to make everyone else around him smile.

Jason nodded at her. "See you later."

**--------------------------------------Quartermaine Mansion**

Emily couldn't help but laugh at the Quartermaine family. She'd seen them excited and anxious before, but this was a whole new ballpark.

"What are you laughing at young lady?" Edward barked to her. He was in a bad mood. Lila had made him promise to leave Alan, Monica, Emily, Jason and Rider alone for breakfast. So Edward would get to meet Rider and then he'd have to leave. Along with AJ and Ned, who weren't half as disappointed as Edward. They'd opted for not coming to the Quartermaine breakfast.

"You guys. I swear, its like the president is coming or something. Its just Jason and his son." Emily said as she flopped down on the couch with a giggle. She was completely aware that there were toys all around her.

"Emily, if this breakfast goes badly then we might never get another chance with Jason. Or Rider." Monica told her as she arranged the toys in the corner. She'd bought all of the toys that a little boy would dream of. Just so maybe, if Rider was having fun, Jason might stay a bit longer.

"That's not true." Emily told her mother. She suddenly felt bad for laughing. She realized that to her parents this was the last chance they had to be in Jason's life.

"You don't know that." Alan said with a shake of his head. They could smother him. Scare him away. Or the whole house could erupt in fight and prove to Jason that everything that he ever thought about them was true. The amount of things that could go wrong this morning were amazing. And they couldn't afford any of that to happen.

"He wouldn't come here if he didn't want to." Emily told them quietly.

Reginald came into the room. "Jason and Rider are here." He said.

Emily jumped up and ran out to the foyer. Jason stood by the door. "Jase!" She said as she threw her arms around him. He hugged her back as Rider and the rest of the Quartermaine family watched.

"Go easy on Mom and Dad, they're scared of pushing you away." Emily whispered in his ear.

Jason smiled at let her go. "Hey Em." He greeted with a nod to tell her that he got her message.

Emily whirled around to see the little boy clinging to his father's leg. "And how's my favorite four year old?" she asked as she leaned down to hug him.

"Aunt Emily!" he yelled as he vaulted himself into her arms. Jason smiled at them, as did everyone else in the room. His parents were beaming at the sight. And when they spotted Jason smiling, it only made them feel better.

Emily picked Rider up. "Boy, you got big. What are you feeding him Jason?" she joked.

"Speaking of feeding...." Rider hinted. They hadn't eaten yet so they'd be hungry for when they got to the mansion. And for someone whose been up for hours, it was a long time to wait.

Emily and Jason laughed. "Yeah, I was wondering how the two world class eaters were going to tide themselves over for a ten o'clock breakfast." She said with a shake of her head. Truth was, she'd never seen two people stuff their faces with more food. Rider, being the little boy he was, often times ate so much that Emily wondered where he put it all. And Jason was on the thinner side, and generally made her wonder the same about him. It wasn't only how much they could eat, but what they ate. They were both willing to eat anything once. And after seeing the two of them share some strawberries and soy sauce, she knew exactly how hard it must have been for them.

"It wasn't too fun." Jason admitted to her.

"Jason, darling, I'm so happy to see you!" Lila called as Reginald wheeled her in the room. She and Rider hadn't ever met face to face, but phone conversations had happened a lot between the three.

Jason smiled as he kneeled down to meet his grandmother. "Hello Grandmother. Its good to see you again."

"Its good to see you too. I've missed you so much. Now, where is Rider? I've wanted to meet him in person for so long." Lila asked with her trademark smile. It was a suspicion of most of the Quartermaine family that Jason was her favorite. Not that Lila would ever say anything about it.

Emily put Rider down and he raced forward to his father's side. "Hi!" he greeted enthusiastically. He stood on his toes to lean in and kiss her on the cheek.

"Hello Rider. I'm very glad we've finally met in person." She commented as she touched his cheek.

"Me too."

"I'm afraid I have a doctors appointment. So I have to hurry along. But, Jason darling, do come visit me soon?" she asked as Reginald started to open the door.

"Of course." Jason assured her. He kissed her cheek goodbye.

"Goodbye Rider, you come visit me too, alright?" Lila said as Rider kissed her cheek in a imitation of how his father had done.

"I will. And if the doctor gives you a shot, don't cry and you'll get a lollipop." He advised with a serious look on his face. All the adults in the room either smiled or chuckled a bit.

"I'll remember that sweetheart." Lila assured him with a smile. Reginald then wheeled her out the door and to the car.

"Alright, I believe my nephew mentioned something about feeding?" Emily said slyly. Jason stood up straight and picked Rider up. They started towards the rest of the family. Jason couldn't help but notice the looks that he was getting from his parents. He was as adverse to spending time with them as he had once been. Just as long as he didn't have to include the whole family. After Rider had asked if he had any grandparents Jason had felt bad for keeping Alan and Monica away. Isabella had almost no family so it was basically his side of the family or nothing. And Rider deserved more than nothing.

"What do you have for breakfast?" Rider asked Emily. He was aware of the looks the other people were giving he and his father. He tightened the hold he had on Jason.

"Everything. There's a whole buffet." Emily told him as he and Jason walked to the table where it had all been set up. Jason set Rider up on a chair so he could reach everything. Seeing that Emily had him under control Jason turned around to the rest of his family.

"Hello." He greeted somewhat hesitantly. He didn't want a fight. But he also didn't want the impression given to Edward that the old man would have access to Rider at anytime. Because he didn't. And he wouldn't ever have that. But Jason was willing to be civil.

"Hello Jason. I'm so glad you're home." Monica said. It was taking a lot of self-control not to run up and hug him.

"You look well." Alan commented. He'd already took in every aspect of his son's appearance. He didn't look any different than he had when he left really. He was tanner and his hair had been turned more blonde, by the sun no doubt. He was slightly thinner. But his eyes were the difference from before. They were no longer cold and dead. Emily had always referred to that look as Jason's mask. Whatever it was, it was no longer there.

"Thank you. So do both of you." Jason said with a nod. He didn't really know what to say. Conversation wasn't one of his strong points. It never had been. And usually he'd had someone in the past to pick up his slack. But at the moment he was on his own.

"We try." Monica joked slightly with a smile. She was rewarded with a smile of Jason's.

"Daddy! They have bananas!" Rider cried out, holding up the fruit in question. Jason couldn't help but laugh. His son had a strange love for the yellow fruit.

"What kind of aunt would I be if I didn't make sure that you're favorite food was on the table?" Emily asked.

Rider shrugged in a Jason-ly manner and went back to stocking his plate.

Alan turned to Jason. "Bananas?"

Jason smiled at the mention of his son's quirk, "Give Rider a banana and he'll be your best friend forever."

"That looks like a lot of food for a small boy." Monica commented with a curious smile. Rider had chosen the largest size of plates they had put out. And every inch of it was piled high with food. It was more than even AJ consumed for breakfast.

Emily looked hard at the plate. "Yeah, Rider, that's seems like a lot. Even more than usual." She said with a skeptic glance at him, there was no way he was eating all of that.

"I was gonna share it all with Daddy. See? I put on eggs for him." Rider explained. The eggs were his way of proving his intentions. He didn't eat eggs at all.

"Thanks Ri." Jason said as he ruffled Rider's hair affectionately. Surprised that he had intentions of sharing a plate.

Emily walked around Rider and to Jason. As she gave him a slight shove towards a chair, she said, "Go, sit, talk. I've got Rider under control." And she gave a quick smile to her parents. Then sternly looked at her grandfather. "Grandfather? Is there somewhere you're supposed to be?"

Edward puffed his chest out and glared at his granddaughter. "Now young lady..."

Alan cut his father off before he could try to weasel his way into staying longer. Sitting down on a couch next to Monica and opposite Jason's armchair he sternly spoke to his father. "Father, you remember what Mother told you. And no one here will hesitate to tell her that you stayed and harassed Jason." He wasn't about to cut his visit with his son and grandson short because Edward couldn't behave himself.

"I haven't said hello to the boy." Edward pointed out. He did have a point, Lila said he could introduce himself.

Monica rolled her eyes heavenward at Edward's attempt to stay in the room. "Make it quick Edward."

Jason got up and walked over to where Rider was finishing up his plate. "Rider, buddy, this is my Grandfather. He is your Great Grandfather. He yells a lot and is kind of mean to some people. But he means well, part of the time." Then he turned to Edward who was watching him like a hawk. "Edward, this is my son, Rider. He is four and will not be around you very often. Thanks for introducing yourself. Good to see you. Bye."

Edward looked as though a feather could knock him down. And Jason was tempted to try that out to see for himself.

"What...you little.." Edward sputtered out.

Emily took the chance to steer the stunned old man out of the room. Before he could get a word in edge-wise she closed and locked the doors. She turned around to see Rider plopping himself and a plate of food down into his father's lap. Her parents looked as though they were trying to suppress giggles, and were failing miserably.

"I believe that is one of the first times in the past decade that Edward has been rendered speechless, Jason." Monica said with another half muffled laugh. Emily dragged over a chair that was between Jason's side of the room and their parents.

"Someone had to do it." Jason made a uncharacteristic quip.

Emily looked unfazed by Jason's small joke, but to his parents, it was practically words from God.

The two blonde boys dug into the plate with unchecked joy. The whole scene was something so normal that you wouldn't have ever guessed that there had been a time when Jason wouldn't have eaten in the house even if he hadn't eaten in weeks. And this was a fact that was painfully known to Alan.

"I promise you guys, the food won't run away." Emily assured them with a giggle. Jason looked up and gave her a mock glare.

"I know that."

"So Jason, how long to you plan on staying in town?" Alan asked Jason. He was holding his breath for the answer.

"For good." Jason offered up between bites of hash browns. Port Charles was his home. No matter how many times he went away, he would always come back. Now with everything going on all he wanted was to be home again. When he left town he never imagined that he would miss the hectic life of Port Charles. But he did. After a while the quiet life he lead on the island seemed a bit duller than he had hoped. And Port Charles was home to his family. Biological or adoptive. Either way they were all there. He wanted Rider to know them. And for some people, Jason himself wanted to know them. Alan and Monica included in that.

Emily knew that her next question wouldn't be a welcome one but she felt that she had to know. "And what about work?"

Alan and Monica turned to look at their daughter's boldness. She'd asked the one question they were desperate to know, but wouldn't ask themselves. That fell under a forbidden topic that they wouldn't go into. Not while things were going so good for this breakfast. No major problems yet. Jason seemed to be enjoying himself even.

Jason didn't seem to like that he was being questioned in front of his son on that particular topic. Lowering his voice to keep Rider from hearing it and also to tell Emily that she was slightly out of line Jason responded. "I'm not working for Sonny."

The other three people of the room tried to look calm but inside they were all beaming. Seeing a loved one shot or going to bed not knowing if they would be alive or in town the next morning was a hell that they all knew personally.

"Well then, do you know what you plan on doing?" Monica asked Jason cheerfully. With the news she had just received, it was a small miracle that she wasn't crying in joy.

"Daddy's gonna open a bike shop again, right Daddy?" Rider cried out. He turned to look expectantly at Jason.

"I don't know yet. I'll think about it. So, is there anything I should know about what's been going on?" Jason asked, he was still getting caught up with Port Charles. He may have only been gone four years, but in Port Charles, he may have well been gone a century.

"I'll fill you in later Jase. You guys are living at the penthouse again right?" Emily asked him. She could tell he wasn't enjoying being grilled.

"Yeah, Carly fixed it up. She made it look a bit like a beach." Jason told her, happy that conversation was back on safe grounds. He wasn't one for being questioned. Especially about his future.

Rider wrinkled his nose distastefully. "There are no beaches here."

Alan nodded sympathetically. "Yes, Rider, Port Charles doesn't really have any beaches."

"That's what Daddy said." Rider told her sadly shaking his head at the same time. "How are we gonna surf is there's no beaches?"

Jason laughed slightly at the confused expressions on his parent's faces. He pushed away the shocked feeling that crossed his mind when he realized that he was continually referring to Alan and Monica as his parents in his mind. "We'll take vacations to places with beaches, okay?"

Rider nodded as he worked on opening his banana. "Okay."

"So Jason, have you talked to Elizabeth yet?" Emily asked, hoping her voice sounded casual. She was anything but. She was determined to play matchmaker this time around.

Rider looked up from his work. "Lizzie?" The sound of his voice suggested that he liked Elizabeth. Which Emily was hoping was right. Jason could tell from the look on her face that the wheels were already turning.

Emily smiled at Rider's question. She had always thought that Jason and Elizabeth were meant to be with each other. And now there wasn't anything really standing in their way. With the exception of Ric, and Emily was fairly certain that Elizabeth wouldn't mind dumping the jerk. "Yeah, Lizzie. I'll take that as a yes by the way Jase."

"We ran into her on the docks this morning." Jason informed her as Rider chomped down on his banana. His son's eyes survived the room and settled on the toys situated in the corner.

"Wow."

Jason sent a accusatory look Monica's way as the older woman caught his eye. "Bribery?"

Monica tried to look innocent. She hoped Jason wasn't angry. But he didn't seem to be very upset by her little scheme. "I just thought he may like something to play with in case the talk turned boring for him."

Jason rolled his eyes. "More like if Rider was having fun then I might stay longer."

Monica smiled his way. He had read her thoughts exactly. That was exactly what had motivated her to get all the toys. "Maybe that too." She admitted with a sheepish tone of voice.

Rider looked at Jason hopefully. "Can I go play Daddy?" he asked, trying his hardest to look extremely cute.

Jason nodded and Rider leapt off of his fathers lap. Jason watched for a second before turning back to the others. He noticed that Alan's eyes were glued to him and him alone.

Before Jason could comment or shrink away from the intense gaze Emily started up talking again.

"What did Elizabeth had to say?" she asked, not quite ready to let the conversation rest.

Why was it that all the females around him were so interested in his love life? Jason ran his hand over his face before letting out a sigh, "I think I shocked her."

"No really?" Emily asked sarcastically. She had been expecting that. Hell, anyone would have been expecting something like that to happen. She hadn't told Elizabeth about anything. And she felt slightly guilty that she had let her best friend walk into that conversation blind.

Jason shot her a glare. "I had been hoping you'd told her about Rider."

Emily shook her head. "That was yours to tell. She doesn't know anything. All I told her was that a lot had happened with you. She didn't know anything."

"Judging from the look that she gave me when I introduced her to Rider, I'd say she knew nothing. I think she stared at us for a full minute." Jason said quietly. He glanced back over at Rider. The little boy was fully absorbed in some barnyard set that Monica had placed in the room.

"You really got a lot of toys, Monica." Jason marveled, changing the subject. Which was much to Emily's annoyance.

Monica smiled as they all watched Rider. "I couldn't resist. I haven't been toy shopping in a long time." She said. She mentally put out the fact that the last time she had toy shopped was when Michael was taken from Jason and brought to the mansion.

"That's one kind of shopping that isn't so bad." Jason commented without realizing what he was saying.

Emily's eyes widened. "Did you just admit that there's a type of shopping that isn't too bad?" she asked in a mock shocked voice.

Alan grinned at the exchange. His kids were acting like normal siblings, teasing each other. "Oh, leave your brother alone Emily. Not everyone likes shopping as much as you and your mother."

His defense of his son earned him a smack on the arm from Monica. She decided to keep quiet other than that one gesture.

Jason smiled back at Alan, thrilling his father. "I think all girls love to shop. You should see Carly. I'm amazed Sonny isn't bankrupt."

Emily giggled, remembering her former sister in law's spending habits. They were pretty hard to forget. But she wisely chose not to comment. "Bike shop part three, hu?" she questioned Jason.

Jason shrugged. "Its easy. I like it. Rider likes it. What else is there to do?"

Emily seemed to be considering his job options very seriously. Jason was almost anxious to see what she would come up with. It was going to be interesting either way.

"Well Jase, with a body like yours you could always go into stripping." She said with a grin. She waited for his reaction and wasn't disappointed.

Jason's eyes widened in shock. "No way."

Emily laughed. "Are you sure? I bet a guy like you would only have to take his shirt off to get the job." She continued her teasing. Jason as stripper would be something that happened far far away and over the rainbow.

"No way."

Alan and Monica laughed, enjoying the show. Alan came up with another impossible job. "With all your knowledge on bikes you could become a motorcycle sales person. Think about it Jason, you could tell a bunch of men going through a midlife crisis that they look ten years younger on the bike. Or tell other people that the bike really brings out their inner free spirit."

Jason shook his head continually. The more he thought about it the more he realized that he was suited for very few jobs. Mob enforcer and motorcycle repair shop where pretty much his only options.

Monica decided to jump in and have her fun. "Well, Jason, since you love leather jackets so much you could become a model. All the major leather designers would want you."

Emily couldn't contain herself once she started imagining her brother going down the catwalk. "Yeah Jase! You've perfected that moody stare that all male models use. You'd be prefect for it!"

Their laughter died down slowly. Jason was silently shaking his head at the thoughts of all the jobs they'd came up with. None of which he would ever take. He had a better chance of becoming Taggert's partner at the police station then he did of becoming a stripper.

Emily watched Jason. The conversation had taken a interesting turn. But the conversation from before was the one that had her worried. Was Jason angry with her for mentioning his work for Sonny in front of Rider? She couldn't really blame him if he was. Emily berated herself for not waiting until Rider was playing with his toys on the other side of the room before asking. She felt she had to apologize for before.

"Sorry about before, when I asked if you were working for Sonny. I just had to know." Emily told him. Jason could tell that she was sincere.

"Its okay. But you should have waited. I'm not telling Rider about all of that. Not anytime soon anyway." He sighed and looked back over at Emily. "I'm not working for Sonny. Maybe, if Isabella was still alive and we'd come home with her, I might be. But she's not here, she's dead. I can't do the things I used to. I'm all he has left."

Jason looked back over at Rider who was happily playing with the toys, oblivious to the world around him and how his father fit in. "I won't let him down. I love him too much for that."

* * *

Wow, long chapter. I know. Next one is way shorter, I swear. I hope you liked the Quartermaine/Morgan talk. I wish that GH did more with that storyline.

**PLEASE REVIEW!!!**

**Liasonfan- **I'm glad you're not bummed about Cameron. I wouldn't even begin to know what to do about that or him. Besides, this was written far before he ever came onto the canvas. Rider's mom? You'll see. You get little bits and pieces about her every once and a while. But then there's a chapter in which the whole story is revealed. I do believe though, in the first chapter, that Emily explained to the Qs that his mother's name was Isabella and that she had died in a fire a few months prior. Hope that helps!

**Molinhas- **Hooked? Ooh, yay. I'm so happy that you like Jason and Rider's relationship. This is a liason story, but Jason and Rider are just as important as that to me. So that's a big part of the whole story. We've got both in the forefront of the whole story. Thanks!

**Thewretchedchild- **I love getting responses too, which is why I did it here. Usually with my updates I haven't written them ahead of time and once I finish them, I scramble to get them up before I head off somewhere. But since I've got the time I'm doing it for this story. Totally, if you want to do it, do it. It's far from being my idea. Half the authors on here do it. Though, I've noticed in the GH genre that it's not done often (only person coming to mind is Shamira). Go ahead, have fun.

**LizzieBella- **I knew you'd all like that last sentence with Elizabeth still thinking Jase was married! LOL. You'll get Rider's opinion of Elizabeth soon. And Ric causes trouble for Jason and Elizabeth eventually. You'll see. Thanks for the review!

**Chawkchic-** LOL. I'm glad you're thinking of the ways I could take it. See if my way matches up with what you think. But be sure to tell me, as I love hearing where people think a story will go. I think Emily felt (actually, I know she did, since I wrote it...LOL) that Jason's life had far too many big changes and serious elements. Elizabeth just had the collapse of her relationship with Lucky. And now Ric. So she felt that Jason should be the one to tell Elizabeth about Rider and Isabella, not Emily. Hope that clears up the motives there! 

**Lily- **I've impressed you!? YAY! Ooh, you've made my day. Seriously. And yes, it does crush her, as you've seen. Thanks for the review!

**Claire- **I'm glad you like Rider, as he's a big part of the story. I was hoping that no one would be completely against him, and no one seems to be, so I'm happy! You get to find out all about Isabella in a future chapter. Everything from how she and Jase met, to how she died. And I agree completely about the updating of people. I myself have a lot of other stories, and some of those haven't been updated since the start of the summer (I'm ashamed of myself sometimes...) so I figured everyone would be really happy that they get an assured update every week. Thanks for the review, you'll get more soon - actually, just one week from now! :-)

**Saydeeatx- **You're welcome, you're welcome, you're welcome! LOL. I hope the wait isn't too painful for you, as you're in for a week long one again. Thanks so much for reviewing.


	4. Rehash

**Coming Home**: Rehash

* * *

* * *

Hello everyone, thanks for all of the reviews for the last chapter. You are all great. This chapter is going to be shorter than the other ones have been. Hope you'll like it. There will be some liason next chapter, have no fear.

Benny never died. Since there was no Journey. (Loving that sentence!)

**I am so sorry for the delay.** Things are so hectic right now. I know that updates have been extremely slow from me. Which is not only due to my lack of time, but also my lack of inspiration. I'm going to be trying much harder in October, but don't expect too much for the rest of this month. Again, so sorry!

---------------------------Corinthos Penthouse

Sonny paced the floor of his penthouse. He was oblivious to all of the concerned, sympathetic and knowing stares he was receiving from the others in the room. Could there be a way to get the meeting with the Five Families done without getting Jason involved? He didn't want to bring Jason into this meeting. Even though it was all about him and his son. Their return to the town had caused a stir.

Sonny wasn't thinking of the rest of the town though. No, he was thinking of the mob. All of the other mobsters and family heads knew of his return. They were anxious. They knew how amazing of a team Sonny and Jason had been. If Jason rejoined the mob then their power would only grow. And the mob families did not want that to happen. Sonny was powerful enough already without adding the man that has been thought to be the greatest mob enforcer to have lived.

"Boss, we need to call the meeting soon."

Sonny's head snapped back at Benny's gentle intrusion in his thoughts. Johnny, Francis, Marco and Max were all watching him closely. They knew that he was worried about any threats against Jason or Rider from the Five Families.

Sonny sighed. He felt like this was getting to him more than it should. Jason would have to come, he knew that. One last meeting. "I know. Call it. Pier 49's warehouse."

Benny nodded, taking out his cell phone to sound the alarm. He hesitated before dialing and turned back to Sonny. "And Jason?"

"He'll be there."

------------------------The Morgan Penthouse

Jason dropped his cell phone on the desk. So maybe the breakfast hadn't been torture. It had turned out better than he had thought it would. "So buddy, how'd you like your first introduction to the Quartermaines?"

Rider smirked at his father. "They didn't yell."

The two blondes collapsed on the couch next to each other. Rider crossed his legs Indian style and turned so he was facing Jason. The little boy stuck out his hand and grabbed on to Jason's. He tapped it and made it so Jason's hand bounced when Rider pushed up.

"I know. That's only cause the old man and AJ weren't there." Jason informed his son. They had already had the Quartermaine talk. Rider knew about his father's accident and the results of it. Rider didn't show his father the pictures he drew for that reason. He knew how much Jason wanted to be able to see what Rider drew, so the artist never revealed his work so as not to disappoint Jason.

Rider glanced up from the hand games he was playing with Jason. "I'm not ever talking with them, right?"

Jason nodded, reading his son's thoughts. He and Jason had a tendency to think alike. They knew each other's reactions to things. "No, not if I can help it."

"Okay. 'M happy I got ta see what Grandmother looks like." Rider observed. Jason's grandmother hadn't ever really been well enough to visit them on the island. It was too big of a travel for an old woman.

Jason smiled. "I'm glad you did too." He stopped for a second. After only a moments of hesitation Jason continued. "What did you think of Alan and Monica?"

The little boy continued his inspection of Jason's finger and didn't look up. "They're nice. They just never stopped staring at you."

They had both noticed the same thing it seemed. "Why'd they do that?" Rider continued on asking.

Jason shook his head. "They missed me." He simply put it. He didn't quite know how to explain his relationship with his parents. It wasn't anything he spent much time thinking about. But when he did he knew that they loved him. Emily's first words to him about them being afraid of scaring him away, and that was partly his fault. Jason knew that he had never handled the Quartermaine situation well. Least of all his parents.

He hadn't wanted any parents when the accident happened. But had gotten some. Only problem being he wasn't the one they wanted. After spending every day looking into their eyes and seeing the disappoint because of who looked back he'd written them off. Only allowing them brief glimpses at the man he'd become.

Rider sensed his father's thought path. He hadn't realized his question would get his father upset. He quickly tried to change the subject. They could continue the talk later, when Jason felt better about it. "I liked Lizzie too."

With his thoughts successfully shifted Jason thought back to Elizabeth. "She looked surprised to see us."

Rider giggled. "She didn't know about me, hu?"

Surprised that Rider had guessed it Jason smiled. "Yeah, she didn't. How'd you know that?"

The little boy gave his father an all-knowing look. "She didn't say anything for a looong time! And her eyes kind of bugged out! It was funny. But I didn't say anything cause I figured she was already freaked out enough."

Jason ruffled his son's hair, reclaiming his hand. "Well aren't you a smart one!"

"Well, duh!"

* * *

How was the chapter? Everyone like? I hope so. Liason is coming next chapter. As well as Michael's debut.

**Molinhas- **Rider and Elizabeth do get along well, which is how I want it. I'm glad you thought that the Q stuff was funny, it was what I was hoping everyone would think. Thanks!

**Claire-** Jason will slowly let his parents in. But so far it's only them. No miraculous Edward love or anything. Thank you for the review!

**Burtonlover-** Yeah, poor Elizabeth, I hated doing that to her I did enjoy the Emily/Jason banter though, so I'm happy you agree. Thanks for reviewing.

**Chawkchic- **Hmm...I do believe you've predicted a future chapter...hehe. Thanks for the review.

**Saydeeatx-** All of them? Well, that's quiet pleasing! Thanks you so much for the review.

**LMELMK-1970-** I made you smile? I love that. Part of the reason why I write. I hope the story continues to amuse you, especially now that I've hooked you in. LOL. I've got a nice little triangle going with that, and it will all be solved. I really must give you a "duh!" about the liason ending up together part. OF COURSE! Thanks.

**Gemblue89- **It will be continued, don't worry. Thanks for the review.

**Jhart-** Just like I said right above you, I will be continuing. This story is three-quarters of the way done. All I've got to do is to remember to post! Which I've already had trouble with. LOL. Thanks for reviewing.


	5. The Lowdown on Liz

**Coming Home**: The Lowdown on Liz

* * *

Hey everyone. Thanks for the reviews for the last chapter. As promised, here is your liason. This is the next day from the last chapter. Jason and Rider have been in town for three days now.

------------------------------Elizabeth's Studio

A little bit more sky and she would be done. The reds and oranges of the sunset melded together to make a perfect shading. She'd always loved sunsets. Something about them made everything around her look beautiful. Or maybe it was because it signified a new day was about to start. The bad things were leaving and you'd have a whole new chance in just a few hours. In Elizabeth's world she liked that concept.

She dabbed the paintbrush back into the red paint, then onto her mixing tray. A little black to darken the color was all she needed. Her inspiration had hit her like a wildfire only a few hours earlier. And Elizabeth thought that under the circumstances a sunset would be a good choice.

Not only because of the possibility of the new day. But because the sun had been bright and shining in her life for a few minutes. But then everything had darkened. Keeping a lid on her feelings was hard. But if the one you love is married, then what can you do?

It had never once dawned on her that it could have been what Emily meant. Looking back she realized that she had been blind in that department. She'd seen something amazing in him. As had Robin and Carly. Why wouldn't some other woman? It was stupid of her not to see that possibility.

She wondered who the woman was. How they had met. Jason had a tendency to meet people in the weirdest of ways. Carly was sex in a bar. Sonny was outside of Luke's after Jason dumped a table. Robin had been when he had awoken from a coma. He had saved Elizabeth in a bar when she had been trying to stir up trouble. These weren't exactly the normal ways people start up long term friendships and relationships. Whatever way Jason had met his wife had to be interesting. The story was probably good.

Another question plagued her mind. Was the woman like Lucky? Would she tell Jason that he had to stay away from Elizabeth? And if she did, what would Jason do?

The Jason that had left town three years earlier wouldn't have stood for something like that. But with a son and a wedding band his priorities had to have changed. There was no way they hadn't.

Or would it not work? She had tried to stay away from him, and there was no way she could do it. It had been too hard. Why hadn't that been her first clue?

Elizabeth stood back and admired her artwork. Some of the best she'd produced in the past few months. Then again, it was pretty much the only thing she had produced in the last few months. She knew that Jason's sudden arrival had something to do with that.

What had made him come back? After he left she was almost sure that it would take a lot to get him to step foot in the city limits of Port Charles.

Elizabeth groaned. She had to get this all out of her head.

The best way to get something out of your head was a motorcycle ride. The wind would go so fast there was no way that actual thought could be formed. The wind and the bike were the only things you could take in. Those, and Jason sitting in front of the bike.

She slapped her head, hadn't she just decided that thinking about him was a bad idea? And there she was, gushing over their past all over again. She was beginning to think that it was mentally impossible for her to get him out of her mind. He lived there. He haunted her mind. Never allowing her a moment of free thoughts. If this was what love was, then she had it bad.

The door to her studio was rapped on for a short second. Elizabeth rushed over, grateful for the distraction. Painting hadn't done it. Hopefully her visitor would. She undid the dead bolt and prayed heavenward that it wasn't Ric.

"Hello." She started and then looked up.

Okay, so maybe he wasn't in her thoughts anymore. But that was only because seeing Jason stand in front of her had shocked all coherent thought out of her mind.

"Hi. I thought we could talk for a little while. That is, if you have time." Jason started. He looked down the hallway, as it picturing himself walking down it and away from the stare he was getting. Maybe his plan hadn't been the greatest. Who knew if she even wanted him there at all. He hadn't come by in years, he had no right for dropping by like he was doing.

"I'm sorry, I shouldn't be here. I'll go." Jason told her apologetically when she didn't reply.

Elizabeth snapped back into reality. She grabbed Jason's retreating arm and pulled him back. He looked up at her with hopeful eyes. "Don't go. I'm sorry, I'm just not used to you showing up at my studio. It's a nice surprise."

Jason shifted his head to the side and studied her. His eyes seemed to be penetrating her soul. Elizabeth turned away, suddenly feeling raw underneath his gaze.

"Are you sure?" He asked when he saw her look away from him.

Ever the polite hostess, Elizabeth sent him a small smile and ushered him into her studio. "Of course. I had just finished up a new painting when you knocked."

Jason nodded politely. "Good. Did you like how it came out?"

Not enjoying the strained conversation Elizabeth merely nodded. She wondered about his reason for stopping by.

As if reading her thoughts Jason started up on his real reason for stopping by. "I know I probably shocked you today with Rider." He started needlessly. Yes, he had sure as hell shocked her.

Elizabeth gave him a look that was designed to say "No, really?" Jason caught the message and looked down. He had a small smile on his face and Elizabeth could have sworn this was as close as Jason Morgan got to being shy.

He shuffled his feet for a few seconds. He wasn't sure what to say past that. That he was sorry? She must have already realized that. So what was the point in saying it?

From the way he was acting, Elizabeth could tell he was at a loss on what to say next. And his supposed sudden bout with shyness couldn't have been helping him. Taking pity on him she joked, "When Emily said that a lot had changed with you I can't say I thought a wife and child was what she meant."

At that statement Jason looked up. His expression was a bit more unreadable the usual. But she could still see confusion written on his face. "I figured the wife thing out Jason, I mean, you are wearing a ring."

His eyes followed from her pointed finger to his wedding band. After Isabella died he hadn't bothered to take it off. Partly for Rider, partly because it made things easier. "Oh."

He didn't know what to say next. She was right, he did have a wife. He'd had a wife. What would she say if she knew that he wasn't a husband, but that he was a widower?

Elizabeth noticed his expression and wondered what he was thinking. If there was ever a mind she just wanted to crawl up into and explore, it was his. "Its okay Jason. You're amazing, kind and wonderful. Not to mention handsome. I was dumb to think that some woman wouldn't swipe you up."

"Swipe me up?"

The amusement was clear in his voice. Elizabeth blushed slightly at her odd choice of words. "You know what I mean."

Jason nodded, the tension effectively cleared. "Yeah, I do."

"But seriously Jason. I'm happy for you. And I hope she makes you happy." Elizabeth offered. She looked him in the eye briefly before hurrying back to her painting to get her brushes so she could clean them.

Behind her Jason closed his eyes. Would there be any way to tell her and not have to discuss it? He hoped she wouldn't ask a million questions. "She did make me happy. She made Rider happy too."

She stopped what she was doing but didn't turn back to him. He used the past tense. As in no longer made him happy. Confusion and hope radiated from her so strongly he could feel it. "What do you mean - did?"

"She died."

The shock caused her to turn about only to find that Jason was looking out her window. She studied his back and saw the tension in him.

"I'm sorry."

Elizabeth knew her apology was pretty much worthless. She felt like scum for wishing the woman wasn't in the picture. She didn't want him like that. He may be single. But only because of the death of his wife.

He turned around and his guard was up. The tension in him remained. She could tell that he didn't want to discuss it and decided to respect that. When he wanted to open up to someone she would be there. But pushing him would do no good.

She decided to take a different conversation route. At the same time she hoped her voice wouldn't betray the self-loathing she now had. "So you and Rider are here for good?"

The tension slowly bled out of him, the desired effect of her change of subject. He seemed relieved that he wouldn't need to get into the details of his wife's death. "Yeah. He likes it here. Actually he hates the fact there are no beaches. But other than that he's okay with it."

"And you?" she asked him curiously. His motives for the move home were obvious. But did he want to be back?

Jason merely shrugged his shoulders. "I missed everyone. It was a good idea to come back."

Elizabeth nodded her agreement. It was a good idea.

"So what have you been doing?" Jason asked, sitting on her couch. His eyes followed her movements and he could tell she was still reeling from his return home. He was never one to talk about himself and at that moment, he wanted to hear about her life.

Elizabeth shrugged. "Well, Lucky and I aren't together. I still work at Kelly's. I also volunteer at the pediatrics ward of the hospital. Oh, and, um, I'm dating someone new." Elizabeth said her last sentence quietly, secretly hoping he wouldn't notice.

But she knew there was no hope for her wish. "Does he treat you good?" Jason asked from behind her.

"Um, yeah, he does."

Jason nodded and closed his eyes slightly. He hadn't thought he'd be that effected by her love life. But there he was, wishing that the guy didn't exist. "I'm glad."

She wanted nothing more than to change the subject. Being that she was curious about Jason's son, Rider seemed to be the next best topic of conversation. "So how old did you say Rider is?"

"He's four." Jason replied easily. Elizabeth noted the way his voice changed the moment his son was brought into conversation. In spite of herself she smiled happily to hear the lighter pride-filled tone he used.

Finishing with her brushes, she moved back over to him and sat on the couch. "He looks like you."

Jason made a face, "Everyone says that. But I think he looks like himself."

Despite his serious comment she started laughing. The sound was something he missed more than anything. Her laughter wasn't cold like some people. It changed everything about her. It reached her eyes and her whole body shook from it.

"I really walked into that one didn't I? I should have remembered you would say something like that." Elizabeth's laughter took its sweet time to die down and she was pleased to see that Jason let out a small chuckle with her. She thought that maybe he had found what she said funny. But in truth it was because her laughter was the cause of his.

Jason looked at her seriously. "He said he like you. That you seemed nice. That's a big compliment coming from him. Usually he doesn't make a decision about anyone until he's known them for a while."

Elizabeth nodded, proud that Jason's son thought good things about her. "It is a big compliment."

They stared at each other for a minute. Both at a lose as to what to say. Soon they found that they didn't need words. Both of them seemed to be projecting the same thing through their eyes.

"I missed you."

---------------------------Corinthos Penthouse

"Are ya sure Uncle Sonny won't mind? Daddy says that he's kind of flippy about his kitchen." Rider questioned his new partner in crime. He and Michael were in Sonny's kitchen, each making their own bowl of slime.

Michael added more cornstarch to his blue concoction and shrugged. "Yeah, he will. But we'll just say that you used to do it all the time at home and that you were getting kind of homesick."

The blonde giggled, "You're bad, Michael."

"I just know how to work around the parents. My mommy taught me." The eight year old said. He was telling the truth. His mother had given him a few lessons both purposefully and indirectly about how to get around authority.

"Hand me those blueberries? I wanna mush 'em up in here." Rider asked. He pointed to the bag and Michael happily handed them over, impressed with Rider's idea. Michael himself had just been using the juice as a food coloring.

After successfully leaning over from his seat on the island over to the sink to add more water Michael settled back down. "So, do you like Port Charles?"

Rider seemed to be considering the question from all angles. "Well, no beaches, so that stinks."

The red head nodded his agreement whole-heartedly. "Tell me about it."

"But I like the boats they got down in the riverish thingie." He paused to see what Michael thought on the situation and once he was satisfied that he wasn't the only one who enjoyed seeing the big boats come and go he moved on to his next point. "Plus Daddy seems to like it here."

Michael mixed the slight dash of flour into his bowl and didn't bother to look up. "I missed having Uncle Jason here. He's awesome."

Rider couldn't agree more. "He is. He's the bestest daddy ever. We do everything together."

Michael watched with a mixture of revulsion and awe as Rider dumped a quarter of the ketchup into his slime turning it a reddish purple because of the blueberries. "Is he home? We could have him make slime with us."

Folding the ketchup into the slime like his father had taught him to do, Rider shook his head. "Nah, he's at Lizzie's, they're talkin' at her studio."

"Elizabeth?"

Rider looked up, ketchup temporarily left half mixed. "You know her?"

"'Course I do. She was friends with Uncle Jason for a long time. And she's Aunt Emily's best friend. Mommy hates her though." Michael explained.

"So they're friends?" Rider asked slowly as he resumed his mixing.

Michael nodded. "Yeah they were. I kinda thought they would..." he broke off. For a second he had a stricken look on his face when he realized who he was talking too, but quickly covered it up, hoping Rider hadn't noticed.

He had, "What? You thought they would what?"

In a move that Michael hoped would make him seem more casual than he was, he slowly mixed in mustard and spoke slowly and coolly. "I just kinda thought they were gonna, you know."

"Really?" he asked with amazement in his voice. His daddy and Elizabeth like liked each other?

Michael shrugged, wishing he'd kept his big mouth shut. "Well, yeah. I think that's why my Mom doesn't like her. She doesn't like girls who talks to your dad. I don't even think she likes Aunt Emily that much, and she's your Dad's sister."

Rider absorbed this new information and nodded. Lizzie was nice, and maybe they were just going to be friends. "Well, I guess that's not so bad..."

"Yeah, she's really nice. It wouldn't be bad at all." Michael said, trying to make his friend feel better and see the bright side.

Deciding the subject should change to something funnier Rider went with the first thing he could think of, "So Aunt Carly really doesn't like her?"

Thankful for the change Michael grinned. "Yeah, calls her 'Muffin' and everything. She'll say it under her breath sometimes. Like 'That stupid little muffin, talking to my husband.'. Or she'll say something right to her face."

"Does Lizzie mind?" Rider asked Michael as the two compared slime thickness.

Michael grinned. "I think she used to. Now she just winks at me when Mommy isn't looking."

Rider turned the honey bottle upside down, it was almost empty and the honey that remained slid down the inside of the bottle slowly. Michael was mixing in a slight amount of dry white rice in by squishing it and the slime between his fingers.

And that was the exact scene that Sonny walked in on.

* * *

Poor Sonny. His kitchen has been defaced. I hope you like the chapter! The next one isn't so long. I hope that Rider doesn't sound more adult than he should, but I need him to be that way. LOL.

**Please, PLEASE, let me know if you're liking this so far.**

For this chapter, I will not be adding reviewer responses. I'm sorry, but I'm really tired, and I want to finish my homework (I procrastinate like you wouldn't believe). Next time, hopefully. Again, though, thanks to you reviewers, I appricate it.


	6. A Mobster's Life

**Coming Home: **A Mobster's Life

--

_Hello everyone. I'm glad you liked the last chapter (and that I didn't gross everyone out too much with the slimy details of Michael and Rider's talk). Thanks for all of the reviews._

_This is the next day._

* * *

_-- Sonny's Penthouse_

"You didn't kill them for the slime thing?" Jason asked, astounded that Rider and Michael had survived their venture into Sonny's kitchen.

Sonny shrugged. "Michael said that Rider was homesick and so he came up with the idea of doing something that you guys did back home and slime sounded like the it would be the most fun. I couldn't get mad at him after that."

Hiding the amused smile, Jason marveled at Carly's son. She had obviously been rubbing off on Michael. "Well, thanks for not killing my kid."

"Anytime man. But if they ever go in my kitchen again…" Sonny trailed off. The image of his kitchen that dirty was still burned into his memory.

Jason nodded. "I'll tell them to do slime in my kitchen next time."

The banter grew silent and Sonny checked his watch. "We got a few minutes before we need to head out. You sure you want to do this?"

"Sonny, this isn't my first meeting with the Five Families. I'm not nervous." Jason assured him. Hopefully this was it, and he wouldn't ever have to do anything mob related again. Rider didn't deserve to have both his parents gone. Before Rider, the risks were acceptable and Jason loved his job. But he loved his son far more and wouldn't let him down.

Sonny read Jason's mind and nodded. "I know. But if you were I could go alone."

There was no way that could happen, and Jason knew it. "No you can't. They would see it as disrespect and I'd be dead by the end of the week."

Wincing at his best friends words Sonny nodded all the same. "I know. But I don't like this anyway.

"You don't have to like it. You just have to do it." Jason reminded gently. He knew that Sonny was worried. Probably more worried than Jason himself was. But that was who Sonny was.

Sonny sighed and nodded, pouring himself a scotch. "I'm glad you're back Jason."

"You told me already, Sonny." Jason teased.

Sinking down next to Jason on the couch, Sonny nodded. "I know I did. I'm just making sure you know it."

Jason stood and pulled Sonny up with him. "Time to go."

"Oh great."

_-- Warehouse_

Sonny sat down at the head of the table. Jason then sat down at his right to signify his place as Sonny's right hand. He took stock of the table.

Sammy Taggliotti was present. As was Sorel's kid, Joseph Jr. The other mob heads nodded their respect to the two of them. Sonny had already prepared what he needed to say.

"I believe you all know why this meeting has been called." Sonny started. They all nodded and only Taggliotti had the balls to speak.

His grin was firmly in place, "Mr. Morgan has returned from his vacation. So good to see you again."

Jason sent him a deathly cold stare that even rattled Sonny a bit. Jason may be a father and he might have been out of the game for four years. But his persona of the enforcer was still completely intact. The infamous borg mask had long since settled onto his face and his eyes were so cold and dead that most of the men in the room could compare him to a corpse in their minds. Jason Morgan was a man to be feared. And they all did fear him, but tried hard not to let it show.

As far as they were concerned, he was the devil incarnate.

Sonny cleared his throat. The attention went back to him from their shoes, where all the men had diverted their eyes to get out of Jason's death glare. "Morgan was not on a vacation. He is back in Port Charles now. But his is no longer retaining his position in my organization or any other man's organization."

The men at the table took in the announcement with various looks of shock on their faces. The shock quickly turn to anger.

"He can't just up and leave." Spat one man.

Another shot out the same thing essentially. "Morgan leaves then he doesn't do it with his life."

Sonny kept his rage in and knew that he could use it to work for him. He put up his hand and when that didn't stop their shouts of protest. "Gentlemen! I suggest you shut your mouths before my men do it for you."

Their mouths shut up as Johnny, Marco, Max and Francis advanced towards them with threatening looks on their faces.

Taking a moment to continue Sonny again held up his hand to keep them quite until he is done. "Jason is leaving my organization with my full blessing. He is not like other men. Even though he will no longer work for me, he is still loyal. I place my complete trust in him. He has sworn not to divulge anything of any sort to outsiders and I trust his word."

"Just because you trust his word doesn't mean we have to."

The others nodded their agreement and Sonny raised his voice to go over them. "Did I seem finished?" The men died down and Sonny started again. "Better. Don't interrupt me again. I don't care if you believe Jason. I do and that's all that matters in this situation. Jason is out of this."

"Listen good, because I will only explain this once. Jason is no longer in this world. He is apart of my family. And the rules of my family now apply to him. If anything, _anything,_ happens to him, I will hunt down every mob head of this room. There will be a massive bloodshed and I will start the biggest mob war any of you have lived to see."

Without waiting for them Sonny stood and Jason followed the suit. The walked out of the warehouse with their guards in their wake. Leaving all the mob heads to start planning a way to ensure that Jason wouldn't talk to the police without bringing down Sonny's wrath.

* * *

_Not my best, I'm sorry. I had a block for this chapter. **Please review!**_


	7. Girl Talk

**Coming Home: **Girl Talk

* * *

_Hey everyone. Thanks for all of the reviews! There's no Jason or Rider in this chapter (hence, Girl Talk) but they turn up next chapter. This is the same day as the last one and is supposed to be going on as Sonny and Jason were at the meeting. _

------------------------Elizabeth's Studio

Emily giggled she saw the sketch Elizabeth had done of a motorcycle. "You're really falling for my brother, hu?"

Why did Emily have to refer to Jason as her brother? It made her feel strange to hear that she was falling in love with her best friends big brother. "Don't call him your brother Emily." She groaned

"Well, what do you suggest I call him? That guy I'm related to? The other branch of the family tree? My father's son?" Emily teased. She wasn't giggling to make fun of Elizabeth. In fact, this was the best news she'd heard in a while.

Elizabeth shrugged. "I don't know. Its just weird to hear you refer to him as your brother. And yes, I'm totally falling for him. God Em, what am I gonna do!?"

Sobering up slightly at the distressed tone Elizabeth was using Emily turned to look at her on the couch. "Tell him!"

"Oh yeah, let me tell the guy who has recently lost his wife somehow that I'm in love with him. That's really a nice thing to do." Elizabeth told Emily in a sarcastic tone of voice. She didn't even realize she'd just let something slip.

Emily did though. "Love."

Confused by Emily's single word, "What?"

"You said love. 'that I'm in love with him.' You're in love with Jason!" Emily squealed in delight. Her brother and her best friend were going to be with eachother. Before she could even think that they were far from being together Emily's mind was practically planning the wedding.

The slip of the tongue caused Elizabeth to groan again. "Emily. I didn't mean..."

Cutting her off, Emily questioned her. "So you're not in love with Jason?"

Knowing she couldn't lie to her friend Elizabeth just closed her eyes and dropped her head into her hands. Which was all Emily needed.

"I have to tell him Elizabeth. I know Jason wants to be with you!" Emily practically shouted. This had been five years in the making.

Elizabeth shook her head. "You can't tell him, Emily. Promise me."

Emily's heart sank, realizing that this wasn't as cut and dry as she wanted it to be. "Why can't Jason know that you're in love with him?"

"Because his wife just died. They had a child together Emily. They had to be in love. He's moved on. And I need to do the same." Elizabeth sighed, feeling tears burn her eyes. But she refused to let them fall.

Sighing sadly, Emily realized that Jason and Elizabeth hadn't gone too in depth of Jason's last four years. "He didn't explain Isabella, did he?"

"Isabella? Who, his wife?" Elizabeth asked, puzzled as to why that would matter.

Gearing up for the long explaination, Emily blew out a long breath. "Isabella worked at the restaurant of the only hotel of the island he went to. She was the host and since Jason can't cook he went there for every meal. They got to talking a lot became friends of sorts."

Elizabeth nodded, too intrested in the tale Emily was telling to do much else. She wanted to find out more about this woman, Isabella, and see how they fell in love.

"She was really nice Elizabeth. I won't lie to you. And she was beautiful. She's one of those people who are just easy to get along with. Jason liked her and she liked him. In the friendship way Elizabeth. They didn't talk much at first. But Jason was walking one night and Isa was fighting with her boyfriend. The jerk moved to hit her and Jason jumped right in. He broke up the fight and they became good friends because of it." Emily continued. Isabella had informed her of all of this. Jason wasn't really a good storyteller so she relied on Isabella for the juicy details.

"And they fell for eachother?" Elizabeth ventured with her guess.

Emily rolled her eyes. "Can I finish the story?"

Nodding, Elizabeth apologized. "Sorry. Keep going."

"Good, don't inturrupt till I'm done." Emily instructed, half serious. "Isabella kind of became his Carly. But in a toned down version. Somehow, Isabella always refused to divulge the details for this part, but I guess they were both drunk for some reason. I always got the feeling it was a lost love type of deal and they were feeling sorry for themselves. Either way, they were drunk." She repeated her last phrase so Elizabeth would see the next part was unintentional on Jason's part. "One thing lead to another, and they slept together. Next morning rolls 'round and they're hung over and pretty upset they've ya knowed."

Elizabeth pushed down the hurt that rose up in her. She knew that she had no right to be upset, but she was. She sighed and motioned to Emily to continue.

"Alright, well, according to both Jason and Isabella, they avoided eachother for a while. But pretty soon, they decided that they should just forget it. Which they did for a month or so. Until Isa found out she was pregnant. And since she was boyfriendless and had been so for a long while, it meant that Jason was the father." Emily continued.

Hanging on Emily's every word Elizabeth made a noise of impatience as Emily stopped for storytelling's sake. "On with it Em!"

"Sorry, I had to catch my breath." Emily apologized.

"No you didn't. You just want me to hang for a second." Elizabeth accused, not really angry at all. Especially when Emily's grin let her know how right she was.

"Okay, okay, fine. As you've guessed, the baby was Rider. They agreed, of course, to raise the baby together. But as time went on, Isabella started getting worried about raising the baby without being married. And after a long talk, another of which I didn't get much information on, they agreed to get married. It was for their baby, not because they were in love. I mean, don't get me wrong, Jason loved her and she loved him. But as _friends_. Their marriage was for Rider, not for themselves." Emily finished.

The whole week had been one long stream of information that she was still trying to process. And this new bit wasn't helping the whole mess of it. The moral of the story rang in her head. Jason wasn't in love with Isabella. She still had a shot.

"Feel better?" Emily asked after watching Elizabeth for a minute.

Shrugging Elizaebth quietly spoke. "A bit."

Emily grinned. Her excitement was back and it was there full force. "So now, how are you going to tell Jason? I mean, are you just going to blurt it. Give him a speech? Kiss him and let him feel all the love and passion? There are a lot of possiblites. And you're lucky, Rider likes you. I bet he'd be fine with this!"

"You have a one track mind, Em." Elizabeth teased her friend. Emily was one of the most amazing people she had ever met and at that moment, she couldn't be more thankful for her.

Emily laughed. "You would too if it took your brother and best friend around five years to get together!"

"And there you go with that brother thing!" Elizabeth and Emily laughed. But after a few minutes Elizabeth's good mood was lost again. "How did she die?"

Emily's laughter died down as quickly as Elizabeth's had. "It was only a few months ago."

Only a few months. Jason had been a widower and Rider had been motherless for only a few months. The thought struck Elizabeth and she couldn't even bear the thought either one could be ready for a new woman in their lives any time soon. She had to do what was best for Jason.

"I know that Jason's kind of prepared himself over the years. I mean, for when the day came when his past would kill his wife, or girlfriend or whoever he was with. But this wasn't even his fault. Which, somehow, I think makes it slightly worse." Emily mused aloud. She and her Grandmother had the talk many times, both speculating on different aspects.

Elizabeth nodded, "How did it happen?" she said, restating her original question.

Sighing, Emily continued. "Kitchen fire at the hotel. Lots of people were hurt, but Isabella was the only one who died. She had gone to the kitchen to make sure no one was still in there, but ended up getting trapped herself."

"I can't do that to them, Emily. I mean, she just died. Rider needs time to get over that. And Jason does too. I would be a pretty selfish person if I just ran right into the middle of their lives right now." Elizabeth told her both quietly and sadly. She knew what she was doing was the right thing. But the right thing to do, wasn't always the least painful.

Disagreeing Emily pointed out another aspect to be considered. "I think they should decided that Elizabeth."

"I can be their friend. And what happens happens. But I'm not running up to Jason and telling him the truth. Not yet." Elizabeth declared. Her voice held no room for argument.

Emily closed her eys sadly. At the rate Elizabeth and Jason went through their relationship, everyone was in for another long wait.

* * *

_I hope you liked the whole thing. That clears up Jason's time on the island, somewhat. Please let me know what you think!_

_Review! Please!_


	8. True Love Meets Current Boyfriend

**Coming Home: **True Love Meets Current Boyfriend

* * *

Thanks for the reviews everyone! Jason returns in this chapter, so you all get that. As does Rider. I'm sure you can all make a guess as to this chapter, based on the title of this chapter. Rider and Jason have been back in town for a week now (theres a few days between this chapter and the last one).

-----------------------------Kelly's

Jason pushed the door open and entered the familiar diner. He hadn't been in Kelly's for years, but it hadn't changed in the slightest. Nor had he expected it to. The tables were in the same place, the jukebox was in its same spot. The only change was the flowers on the tables.

After scanning the interior for Elizabeth and coming up with nothing, Jason sighed and made his way to the front. He sat down at the counter and didn't notice the man at the table starting at him.

Ric Lansing had done his homework. His mission in town was to bring down Sonny Corinthos and in order to do that, he needed to be well informed. Jason Morgan served two inerests. He was Sonny Corinthos's right hand. And he was Elizabeth Webber's former almost boyfriend.

And Ric wasn't sure which served to make him more of a threat.

Elizabeth was his and Ric intened to keep it that way. There was something amazing between them and Ric wasn't about to just let it go down the drain because of the sudden re-appearance of Jason. A fact he was about to make painfully clear to Jason.

He got up, abandoning his newspaper on the table, and made the short journey from his table to Jason. "Hello, Mr. Morgan."

Jason slowly turned around in his seat. He had a bored expression on and Ric was slightly disappointed he didn't merit a famous borg expression.

"Who the hell are you?" Jason asked the suit clad man in front of him. There was something about that man that made Jason want to hit something. His mere presence served to piss Jason off.

Ric let out a humorless laugh and it made Jason's blood boil. "Ric Lansing. I believe we have a few people in common."

And there was the answer as to why Jason was hating the man on sight. This was the guy that was dating Elizabeth. How could she go for a guy like this. Lucky Spencer wasn't a bad kid. But this guy was the definition of slime.

When his introduction received no response, Ric continued on. His oily tone was still in place. "Elizabeth Webber being one of those people. You do know she's my girlfriend right?"

The question didn't need to be answered and both Jason and Ric knew it.

"She's mine, Jason. Just remember that and we won't have a problem."

Jason let his tone go from bored to emotionless, a sure way to rattle Ric. "She's her own person. Not yours."

Ric eyed Jason with contempt. "She's my girlfriend. Not yours. We have something amazing between us. And I won't let you wreck that."

"Elizabeth can make her own choices. She wants to be my friend, I'll be her friend. She doesn't then we aren't." Jason shot back. He could feel his patience wearing thin. Thinner than it did with most.

Laughing, Ric didn't seem to mind that Elizabeth was a person and not a piece of property. "I know what this is about. You want her for yourself. How's it feel Morgan? You had her, lost her to that Spencer brat, had her, and now you've lost her to me. The person she belongs with. It must piss you off to know that she's so happy with me that she won't even need you to give her the time of day."

Jason stood up from his stool and stood close to Lansing. Jason had a couple inches of hieght on the man and had no qualms with letting him know it. "Or maybe you're over here because you know Elizabeth is my friend. And you know we've been close before. You think that coming up here and telling me all about this new great love is going to make me stop hanging out with her?"

Ric eyed Jason with a look that Jason couldn't quite place. But he said nothing so Jason answered his own question for Ric. "I'm not. I'll tell you why you're over here though, Ric." Jason spat out the name, the only word that had any type of emotion in his speech, with such contempt that Ric started to regret his choice of coming over for the smallest of seconds.

"Why's that Jason? Come one, tell me. I want to hear what the brain damaged mob enforcer has to say." Ric taunted. He tried not to let his nerves show, but Jason could see right through him.

Jason smiled. It wasn't a smile for a friend, or even one with humor. It was probably one of the most terrifying things he had ever seen. "Because you wanted to tell me that Elizabeth was off limits. You wanted to rattle me and make me stay away. Because you know that if Elizabeth and I wanted to be with eachother then theres not one damned thing you could do to stop it."

Ric backed away slowly. He was acting as though Jason were a wild animal and sudden movements would make him crazier than he already was.

"You know Jason. I knew you were dumb. I knew you were brain damaged. But I didn't realize you were blind. I love Elizabeth. And she loves me." Ric told him.

His eyes burnt holes into Ric for a full minute before Jason walked out of Kelly's. Ric followed, not satisfied that Jason had gotten the message.

"She'll never love you Jason! She loves me, got that? You already killed your wife. Leave my girlfriend alone." Ric yelled.

Jason froze for a second and Ric eyed the clenching fists that Jason was making. Before Ric saw Jason turn he was on the receiving end of one of Jason Morgan's hardest punches. Ric's eyes teared up and he felt his nose start streaming blood.

By the time Ric's tears had subsided his nose was going numb and Jason was nowhere in sight.

----------------------Jason and Rider's Penthouse

Rider put the finishing touches on his picture as his father walked through the door. Jason hadn't seen Rider yet and the little boy didn't make his presence known.

He watched his father pace by the door for a full minute. Rider could tell that his Daddy was angry about something. He slowly stood up and started to walk to Jason. But before he could reach his father Jason reeled back and punched the wall.

Before Jason could pull his arm back Rider was attached to his leg. "Daddy! No! Its okay. Don't be so upset!"

Horrified that he hadn't thought to check and see if Rider was in the room before he let loose on a wall Jason stopped his arm and dropped it to his side.

Rider stared up at Jason and his eyes pleaded with him to calm down. Jason felt a rush of self loathing for making his son worry. He knew how much Rider tried to take care of him because he had lost his mother. And there Jason was, punching walls and acting crazy enough to worry him.

"Daddy, you hurt your hand." Rider pointed out. He had Jason's hand in both of his much smaller ones and was inspecting the cut on the knuckles with a critical eye.

Jason still kept his mouth shut, not trusting his voice. His son tugged on his arm to bring Jason's attention back to him. Rider led Jason over to the couch and motioned for him to sit down. He obeyed his son and sank down on to the couch. Before Jason could say he was sorry Rider was off to the kitchen in a flash.

The little boy was barely gone a minute before returning carrying a big first aid kit and a washcloth. He plopped down next to Jason and used the wet washcloth to wipe away the blood.

With childlike innocence and a adult's demeanor Rider bandaged his father's hand. "There you go Daddy. All better now."

"I'm sorry, Ri. I didn't mean to..." Jason started.

Rider cut him off, not at all caring that his father had just come in punching walls. "You know what Aunt Emily told me? She said that Lizzie told you a painting once. And while she did all the colors and the lines started makin' sense to you. An'then you could see it. Look at what I drew for you!"

Eyes full of awe and love for his son watched the little blonde boy who was a perfect replica of Jason himself pick up a picture and crawl into Jason's lap.

"See that there, Daddy? That's the sky, 'cause its blue." Rider indicated to the large amount of blue at the top of the picture. "And this circle, this is the sun, the yellow and the rays are there too, just like you say they are."

Rider looked back at Jason to make sure that he had all of his father's attention. But he didn't need to worry, Jason couldn't tear his eyes off the picture. "And this down here, this yellow orangy stuff, that's sand. And you see the big red and white square. That's a picnic blanket."

Rider smiled, "Okay now, see, this is the best part. See the circle here Daddy, with the yellow on top. Its connected to this part here, see?" Rider asked as his small fingers outlined a different few shapes. "You know what that is? Its Aunt Carly! And see the red here on top of this circle. And you see the blue shirt shape? That's Michael. And here's Uncle Sonny."

With each of Rider's explainations Jason managed to see each of the people. In addition to Carly, Sonny and Michael there was also, Rider himself, Jason, Francis, Johnny, Emily, Lila in a chair, Alan and Monica. Jason continued to listen in awe as the outline of Isabella was explained to him.

The final figure on the blanket was unexplained and Jason pointed to it. It was the only part of the picture he couldn't see and now he desperately wanted to know.

"That's Lizzie, silly! See her hair, all brown? And she's littler than Aunt Emily."

Jason felt tears start to come to his eyes. Thankful for everything that was going on. He had the most amazing perfect child there ever was sitting in his lap. And he was seeing his son's drawings for the first time. And on top of that, Rider was comfortable with Elizabeth to put her in the family picture.

All the anger had bled out of Jason. And he was only left with happiness and the first wave of peace he had felt in months.

"I love you, Rider."

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I hope you all liked the chapter! Please, review!


	9. The Bond of Family

**Coming Home: **The Bond of Family

* * *

Hello everyone. I'm glad you all enjoyed the last chapter. This chapter is dedicated entirely to Sam (C.C.Carz). She and I have a agreement. I write, I send her the chapter, she reads and gives me some of the longest most in depth reviews you've ever seen and then I get so inspired that I go write another chapter for her. In this Sunday alone I've written the rest of chapter five, chapter six, seven, eight and now this one. So Sam, this is for you!

Its going to be a few days from the last chapter.

------------------------Jason and Rider's Penthouse

Rider monitored the door as Jason got into his clothes upstairs. How they had been wrangled into a dinner with Alan and Monica, without the safety of Emily's presence, was beyond Jason.

But there they were, takeout on the coffee table ready to be eaten when Alan and Monica got there.

They had called the day before asking if maybe Jason and Rider wanted to get together with them some night during the week. And before Jason knew what hit him, they had plans to eat at the penthouse. He had also been instructed to tell Rider that a new toy would be brought with them just for him.

Needless to say, after that move Rider had been a lot more interested in the visit.

The knock at the door brought Rider into full attention and Jason called down to him, "Ri, get that for me? Tell them I'll be down in a minute."

"Okay Daddy!" he called back up before racing to the door. He threw it open to reveal both of his beaming grandparents.

Alan stooped down to Rider's level, "Hello, Rider."

Instead of greeting Alan back, he simply grabbed both of their hands and pulled them into the living room once Alan had stood back up. "Daddy'll be down in a sec."

Monica nodded, "That's fine." She slyly slipped Rider a brightly wrapped package which he put on his father's desk. "So what have you been doing since you came to breakfast at our house?"

Ever the talkative boy Rider started right in. "Well, Me and Michael made slime in Uncle Sonny's kitchen, and he got really mad when he saw us in there. But then Mike said that it was something Daddy and I did at home and I was homesick so he came up with the idea to do it here to make me feel better. And Sonny got all un-puffed and just said not to do it again and told us to leave the kitchen. And Daddy and I go to the park everyday. I think he's trying to make up for the no beaches thing. Yesterday morning, he tried to make me pancakes, and they got all blackish and yucky. So we went out to eat at ahh, its called...."

"Kelly's?" Alan supplied helpfully, watching the little boy with a amused smile. Rider reminded him of Jason as a child. A bundle of energy. And once he decided he liked you then he was pretty much your new best friend.

Rider nodded, pleased that Alan had remembered the name.

"Yeah, you and I will be spending a lot of time there, Rider." Jason said from the stairs. Alan and Monica turned to look at him. Before Monica could stop to think of the possible consequences she walked up to him and gave her son a quick hug.

Jason smiled and didn't seem to mind that he'd been hugged. "Hi. You guys ready to eat? Its takeout, so you don't have to be afraid for your lives."

Alan chuckled at his son's small joke and pretended to let out a relieved breath. "Well, thank god for small favors. I don't feel a need to sample any of your famous cooking, Jason."

With a raised eyebrow Jason sent his father a look. "Famous?"

"Well, first Emily and now Rider? This can't be a fluke Jason." Alan explained as all of the adults took the containers out of the bag. Once the food was out of the containers and onto plates the group sat down on the couch and chairs. Rider opted for the ground so he didn't have to eat with a plate in his lap. It was unclear whether this was Jason or Rider's idea.

Monica watched the two and noticed they both had the same shovel-it-all-in approach to eating. "Where is this from Jason? Its amazing. I don't think I've ever eaten from wherever this is before. I would remember food this good."

Looking up from his plate, Jason nodded. "You probably haven't. Its from No Name."

She recognized the name of the resturant. It only took her a minute to place it. The No Name was pretty much a mob meeting place that was more upscale than a warehouse. It was hard to get into. And pretty secretive. It wasn't suprising at all that Jason could get take out from it.

"I like the food too, Daddy. We gotta go eat there sometime." Rider volunteered.

Jason grinned and sent a look Alan and Monica's way. He could judge by their faces that they had put the name and reputation together. "I don't think so, Ri. Its not a kid place."

Rider shrugged and went back to his garlic bread.

"So, Jason, I hear from my grandson that there's been some slime making happening lately. How come I wasn't invited?" Alan asked in a mock offended tone.

Jason laughed and shook his head. "Don't be too offended, I wasn't invited either."

"You would have been! But you weren't here! You were talkin' to Lizzie." Rider cried out to break up the laughter the two men were struggling to keep in check.

Monica raised a unnoticed eyebrow. Emily had told her about Elizabeth Webber and Jason's relationship and in her opinion, they were perfect for eachother. She nudged Alan when Jason looked back down at his plate and sent him a mother knows all smile.

Dinner conversation kept up like it was going and for the first time Jason felt almost perfectly at ease with his parents. After a half an hour the food was gone.

"Here, Jason, I'll clear the plates." Monica offered as she got to her feet. She wasn't one to clear anyone's plates but for her son she'd do it.

Jason shook his head and gathered the plates with her. "I'll help."

They both made their way to the kitchen and it only took them the one trip. They lowered the plates onto the island and started to load them into the dishwasher. "Rider is a sweet little boy Jason. You're doing a good job."

His heart swelled with pride and Jason smiled. "I think that's just the way he is. Because theres no way I could raise a kid that good."

Monica made a noise of disagreement. "Didn't you see him? He does what you do Jason. He eats like you, talks like you. You can tell by the way he looks at you that you're his hero."

"I hope I can keep being that way. I pretty much hated myself this week cause I let lose and didn't realize he was in the room." Jason said quietly. He hadn't told anyone about the incident and for some reason wanted to. At that moment he wanted something he had never wanted before.

He wanted his mother to talk to him about it.

She sensed that he needed to talk and prodded the information out. "What did you let lose about?"

Jason crinkled his nose and clenched his hands. "Ric Lansing."

Confusion evident on her face but not in her voice, Monica nodded and motioned for Jason to continue.

"He's Elizabeth's...her boyfriend. He came right up to me in Kelly's. Before he even said his name I wanted to hit him. He starts in on how Elizabeth's his and how they're in love and I can't change that. He's talking like she's his property or something!" Jason exclaimed with more emotion than Monica had ever heard him use in a sentence. According to Emily, Isabella and Jason had just been good friends, not a couple. And with that piece of information coupled with Jason's story, she could tell that there was something between he and Elizabeth.

"I got so pissed off. I thought I scared him pretty good though, I left and I figured he'd stay inside. But the moment I was outside he yells out that I've already killed my wife so I can just stay the hell away from his girlfriend." Jason told her in a small voice.

Her mother instincts kicked in and Monica wanted nothing more than to find Ric Lansing and throttle the man. "And what did you say to him?"

Jason looked down with a small grin on his face. "Well, I punched him so hard I probably broke his nose."

"That's my boy."

His head snapped up and he looked at her in awe. "What, did you think I would tell you that you shouldn't have hit him? If you hadn't I would have had to leave here and punch him myself. I still want to actually. He was out of line Jason, you had every right."

A new found respect for his mother kicked in and Jason felt more towards her than he had ever. "Um, thanks."

With all of the dishes long ago set into the dishwasher Monica finished drying her hands and then gripped Jason's face in both of her hands. "Listen to me, Jason. What he said was meant to hurt you. But it has no truth. The fire was not your fault. It was no ones fault."

Jason nodded and stared back at her. "I know. But I wish I did have someone to blame. I don't really know what to do otherwise."

Monica smiled at him, releasing his face. "I'll tell you what to do. You keep going, raising Rider the best way you know how. You make your little boy happy and do a better job accepting him than I did you. And you find a job that makes you happy. Then you go out and you and Elizabeth get your acts together and see what you really want from eachother."

She walked out of the kitchen leaving Jason behind to think about what she had said.

---------------------Living Room - Meanwhile

"So you and your father like it here?" Alan asked Rider. He had every intention of making the best of their time alone together and getting to know the young boy.

Rider nodded and climbed up on the couch next to Alan. "Yeah, we do. I think Dad likes it here a lot. Kinda like home or something."

Pleased that there seemed to be no plans to move in the immediate future Alan smiled. "He's lived here his whole life."

"I know, both of them." He said for shock value. Most people wouldn't guess that Rider basically knew the whole Quartermaine story.

And at that point he was right. Alan looked dumbfounded that Rider would know about the brain damage. "You know about that?"

Giggling, Rider nodded. "Of course. Daddy told me. I mean, he had to since we were going to your house. And plus I gotta talk him my pictures so he can see them." He said, explaining the best way he knew how. Some grownups were smart and they were easy to talk to, but there were some who were just kinda dumb. Luckily Alan wasn't one of them.

"I didn't realize that you knew. What else did he tell you?" Alan asked, curious if the little boy knew about his son's relationship with the Quartermaines.

Rider read right through him. "All about you Qs!"

His grandson started to laugh at the shocked look on Alan's face. And before Alan could stop it he was laughing too. "You make it sound like a bad thing."

"Its not. Aunt Emily's one, and she's great. And Grandmother! You and Monica. I guess you could count Daddy too. And he's the best Daddy ever so you all can't be so bad." Rider counted off. Alan was touched to be included in the little boy's "good Quartermaine list".

He ran his hand through Rider's hair affectionately. "You look like your father. Almost everyting about you screams him."

Rider's whole face lit up. "Really!?"

Alan realized the reason why Rider seemed so happy. His father was his everything and the thought of even being like him a little was the best thing in the world. "Very much so."

Satisfied Rider snuggled up into Alan's lap. "Cool. I wanna be just like Daddy."

Wrapping an arm around Rider, Alan sensed the little boy's sleepiness. He started to rock Rider and talking softly. "You're Daddy's very strong. And I can tell that you are too. He's been through a lot, but he's still here and as strong as ever."

"Yeah."

Grinning softly at the already sleepy reply he kept talking. "And you know what? He loves you more than anything in this world. I can see it when he looks at you. You are the most important thing in his world."

"He's my important thing too."

Alan continued to rock Rider until the little boy went completely limp in his arms and his breathing was steady and even.

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I hope you all liked it. There's liason for you all next chapter!

Please review!


	10. Jobs of Life

**Coming Home:** Jobs of Life

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_Hey everyone. Thanks for the reviews. This is the next chapter of my Sunday marathon! I hope you like the liason!_

-----------------------Corinthos Penthouse

"So, since you're now a former mob employee, what are you thinking of doing now?" Sonny asked Jason. Carly had Michael and Rider upstairs with her so the men could talk business. From what they had heard the whole bunch was laughing along with Finding Nemo.

Jason shrugged. "Bike shop?"

Laughing, Sonny poured himself water instead of scotched, which surprised Jason. "Again? Aren't you getting bored?"

An image of Emily, Alan, and Monica's job career choices for him flashed through his mind and sent a shiver a fear through him. "Um, no. I'll take the bike shop."

Sonny gave him an odd look. And Jason decided to elaborate. "At breakfast with Alan, Monica and Em they all tried to come up with job ideas for me. And there's no way I'm going after any of those, so the bike shops my choice."

Dimples on display, Sonny grinned, "Oh do tell."

Counting off on his fingers Jason went back to their career options. "Emily said stripper, Alan said motorcycle sales man, and Monica said leather model."

Sonny burst out laughing. "Oh god, get down to the docks and find yourself a warehouse. God, a stripper."

----------------------------Empty Warehouse

Elizabeth walked carrying her lunch. This was the fastest route she had come up with to get between Kelly's and her studio. As long as she stayed out of the way of the busy docks workers then there was no problems with the route and she could come and go as she pleased.

She usually used the time she walked to think about things. And at the moment Jason and his son dominated her thoughts. Emily had made her opinion on the subject quite known. She thought that Elizabeth was being unfair.

According to Emily it was their choice whether or not they wanted her in their lives and she had no right to withhold that choice from them. Emily went on to say that Rider liked her. And it wasn't as though she would try to take his mother's place. And that Jason cared, and most likely loved, her back.

Elizabeth didn't quite believe that one. Not the loved part at least. She'd have to be pretty blind to keep herself thinking that Jason didn't give a damn. He wasn't nice and kind to people he didn't care about. So at least she had that part in her life.

But in then end Emily had agreed not to say a word to Jason or Rider, not to mention anyone else, about Elizabeth's feelings. It was her choice and no matter how wrong of the option she was selecting, it was still her choice.

What wasn't fair to Jason and Rider was her just jumping into their lives like that. If anything she should start slow. Give them plenty of time to choose to run if they wanted.

Her eye was caught on movement to her left and Elizabeth turned her head. Jason Morgan stood inside the open doors of a warehouse. It took her almost a full minute to decide to go in and talk to him. But in the end her heart won out and she walked over to him.

She knocked on the door and was pleased when he turned and smiled at her. He waved his hand to usher her over to him and then turned back at the warehouse. "What do you think?"

"What do I think about what?" She asked him once she had reached his side. His blue t-shirt was tighter than some of his others and she couldn't help but sneak glances. She knew what was underneath that shirt. She tried her hardest to push those thoughts aside

With his hand Jason gestured to the whole warehouse.

"Well, Jason, I do believe that it's the prettiest warehouse I've ever seen." She said with a laugh. What Jason need a warehouse for was beyond her. And since he hadn't informed her yet, she was at an even bigger loss.

He shot her a glance and raised an eyebrow. "I didn't mean if it was pretty or not. I meant did you think it was a good warehouse for my motorcycle shop?"

The mental click happened and she shook her head. She was surprised she hadn't thought of that. "So you're going with the bikes again?"

Nodding he moved so he was in front of her so he could look at her when they talked. "You like the idea?"

"Its very you." She told him, completely serious. Jason decided not to question her meaning. He watched her eyes travel the insides of the warehouse and then slowly make their way back to him. They stared at each other, not talking. Jason tried to read her eyes and thought he saw something different in them. But before he could place it she looked away and turned around the warehouse to get a better look.

He was disappointed that she had broken the moment and silently wondered why. Maybe Ric was right and she really was in love with him.

"It's a good warehouse. Granted, I don't really know a lot about warehouses but still, its nice." She said once she'd come up with her verdict. She had felt him staring into her eyes before and once again she got that feeling that he was reading her soul. Considering her soul pretty much was completely in love with him, she wasn't too ready to let him read that emotion.

Jason nodded and watched her instead of the warehouse. "I talked to Ric."

Elizabeth whipped around and stared at him in shock. "Why?" was the only response she managed to get out. Had Jason approached Ric, or had Ric come up to Jason?

"I was at Kelly's. He took it upon himself to tell me that you were his and you two had something special. Also that I should stay the hell away from you." Jason informed her. He saw the disbelief on her face and asked his simple question. "Do you want me to stay away?"

Slowly she walked towards him. "No, Jason. I don't ever want you to stay away."

"Good, because I would hate having to be away from you now that I'm home."

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_I hope you all liked the chapter. I know it's a bit short, but forgive me all right? I gave you all a mushy ending, did I not? Please let me know what you think! I'm a review-a-holic. It's sad. I need help._

_To everyone out there who reads my others stories....I'm really sorry for the delays. School's much more hectic than last year, and it's cutting into time for everything. I'm working on the latest chapter of Shadowing Death, but I'm not sure when it will be done._

_But, PLEASE REVIEW!_


	11. Like a Punch in the Stomach

**Coming Home:** Like a Punch in the Stomach

* * *

_Hello, all of you wonderful readers and reviewers. Thanks so much for the reviews. This is (I believe) the sixth chapter in my Sunday marathon. Pretty good, right?_

_This chapter takes place almost right after the last one._

-----------------------------Jason's Warehouse

"Yeah, Benny, just give the money to the owner. I'm buying it." Jason instructed to the accountant. Benny might not be his associate anymore, but that didn't stop him from helping Jason.

Elizabeth had stayed only a few minutes after her declaration that she didn't want him to stay away. He didn't know where she was going but when he had asked her only response was that there was something that she had been putting off long enough.

Scott Baldwin walked into the warehouse and Jason tensed up immediately and turned around. "Get out of my warehouse Scott."

"Well, according to your conversation with mob accountant extraordinaire it's not yours yet. Its really nice to know that mobster's believe in expansion just like any other business man." Scotty shot back to Jason. Jason had left before Scott had been named DA of Port Charles. And now that Jason Morgan was back he had gotten himself a place of the second highest priority for the jail.

Jason silently questioned why in hell every slimly jackass in the town and suddenly wanted to piss him off. Pretty soon Taggert and Jax were going to rush right in to get their shots in. "Do you have a reason for being here?"

Scott nodded and put one hand behind his back while leaving the other free to do all the hand gestures. He was the picture of a smug bastard. "Since you left before I got named District Attorney to Port Charles, I thought I'd stop in just to let you know."

"I already knew." Jason volunteered.

With slow steps Scott started walking around the warehouse. Jason watched him like a hawk the whole time. "Its really a shame Jason."

Eyes narrowing of their own accord Jason silently wondered what Scotty was talking about, this time.

"That poor kid of yours. Twenty bucks your mob boss buddy Sonny gets him killed before he learns addition. He'll be as dead as his mother." Scotty said shaking his head as though he was really torn up about it.

And for the second time since Jason had been home, he reeled out and punched. Hitting the District Attorney right in the stomach.

All the air rushed out of Scott's lungs and his knees bent so he was kneeling on the floor. The very same second that Jason's fist had connected to Scott, Jason realized that he was in even more trouble than he had been when he punched Ric.

It took only a few seconds before Scott had recovered. But once he had he was on his feet in a flash. His cell phone was out and he was screaming.

"This is the District Attorney! I want a police unit down here now! I don't care if there aren't any available. I want Jason Morgan arrested now. You get someone down here or you might as well just quit!" Scott screeched. He was angry but he was still smirking at Jason.

Jason himself was not smirking. He wasn't even showing any type of facial expression. Inside he was silently cursing himself for taking the bait. Now he was going to get arrested for punching the District Attorney. He was still contemplating over whom he could call for bail money with the least amount of a lecture coming afterwards when Taggert walked in.

"Hey Angerboy. Long time no see." He greeted as the two other officers marched in after him.

Scott jerked his thumb in Jason's direction. "I want him arrested. He punched the District Attorney. It's not enough to send him to Sing-Sing for, but I can at least get the joy of seeing him get dragged to the station."

Taggert smiled happily. "With pleasure." He walked to Jason and took out his handcuffs. "Jason Morgan, you are under arrest. You have the right to remain silent, unfortunately. You have the right to an attorney..."

--------------------------Ric Lansing's Apartment

Elizabeth knocked on the door for the third time and silently wondered if she was going to have to track Ric down through the whole city. "Ric! Open up, its Elizabeth! We need to talk, now!"

She heard muffled walking around and a second later Ric's smiling face filled the doorway. "Elizabeth! I'm so sorry I didn't hear you. I was on the phone in my office."

He ushered her inside and Elizabeth brushed past him before he could touch her. "We need to talk."

"So you said at the door. What is it, sweetie?" Ric asked in a sickeningly sweet voice.

For a short second Elizabeth stared at him. How could she have ever been attracted to him? The man was a toad. And he had crossed the line the day before with Jason. Jason and Rider were her priorities and Ric had hurt Jason. There was no way she could stay with him. She was slightly thankful for the excuse to break up with him.

Elizabeth stared at him coldly. "We're done Ric. You had no right to say those things to Jason."

"I did it for us Elizabeth. I know how much he got in the way with Lucky. I couldn't let that happen to us." Ric tried to explain. He wasn't going to lose Elizabeth to Jason Morgan, mobster's hit man.

Shaking her head, Elizabeth disagreed. "No Ric, you did it for you. I know you want to take Sonny down. And hurting Jason was just a added bonus."

He reached out to touch her and Elizabeth batted his arm away. Sighing, Ric stepped back. "He can't feel Elizabeth. The man is dead inside. He's a brain-damaged murderer. Did he tell you what he did to me? He punched me. He nearly broke my nose!"

"Well, it's too bad that he didn't punch hard enough to actually do it." Elizabeth hissed back. How dare he call Jason dead? Jason Morgan felt more than anyone she had ever met. All it took was one moment in a room that included Jason and his son for anyone to see it.

Ric looked wounded, "You don't mean that."

She laughed at his weak attempt at denial. "I do Ric. We're done. The only dead thing in this situation is our relationship. Stay away from me. And stay the hell away from Jason."

As she marched out Elizabeth could hear Ric pleading with her not to go, but she ignored him completely.

* * *

_I hope you liked the chapter. I was very pleased to get rid of Ric. Please tell me what you think._

_**REVIEW!**_


	12. Freedom

**Coming Home: **Freedom

* * *

_Hello everyone. Thanks for all of the reviews for last chapter! I'm glad you all enjoyed the end of nasty Ric. He won't be around for a little while. But he does make a return appearance. Well, eventually._

_This chapter takes place the same day as the last one did._

-----------------------------Port Charles Police Department

Carly signed the last of the forms and handed them over to a depressed looking Taggert. "I paid the bail, now bring Jason out here."

Giving a nod to the closest police officer Taggert sadly barked out the order. "Go get Angerboy, I mean Mr. Morgan, from his jail cell please."

Rolling her eyes in annoyance Carly sent Taggert a long-suffering glare. She had been surprised to receive the phone call from Jason. It was short and to the point. That he had been arrested and needed bail. Also not to tell Sonny.

She'd hurried to the police station as fast as she could get there with Johnny in tow. She'd used the excuse of "shoe sale at Wyndams, today only" and Sonny hadn't given her any problem.

Jason was lead up by the same police officer that Taggert had requested bring Jason up. His handcuffs were still on and Carly raised her eyebrows and used her head to indicate to Jason. Taggert got her message and took the cuffs off, less than gently.

"Thank you Detective. As always, it was a pleasure." Carly sweetly said her goodbye as she grabbed Jason by the arm and led him out of the police station. Once they were safely in the car and Johnny was driving she started questioning him.

"What did you do this time Jason? And why couldn't I tell Sonny?" Carly shot out in a quick stream.

Jason groaned. "Carly, I just left the police station. Give me a break with the interrogation."

Merely giving him a look was all it took for Jason to give in. "I punched Scott."

Carly let out a much-needed laugh. She personally thought the District Attorney was a smug corrupt fool and couldn't stand him. She shuddered to think how close her mother had come to making the man her stepfather. "Well, I can't say I blame you. I've come close a few times myself. And I couldn't tell Sonny, why?"

"Cause I could feel the lecture coming on." Jason told her. He shook his head. He knew Carly would understand and not get angry with him for losing control. At the same time a voice in the back of his mind told him that Elizabeth would have come to the police station in an instant. But he had dismissed the idea before. Elizabeth had her own life, she didn't need him complicating it all the time.

Next to him, Carly leaned her head against his shoulder and held his hand for a second. "Well, I'm here whenever you need me."

"I know."

--------------------------Warehouse

The report from his inside connection sat in front of him. The pictures inside showed Jason Morgan talking to Scott Baldwin.

Sammy Taggliotti grinned and knew that this was all he and the Five Families needed to take out Sonny's former right hand. The excuse was something they had been looking for since Morgan had returned days earlier.

Their world was not safe with a man who knew it free and clear out in the world. You don't get out of the mob. That was not a option.

You either stay in and pray no one shoots you.

Or you die.

It was time for the Five Families to make sure that Jason Morgan couldn't ruin them all. And to hell with Sonny Corinthos' warnings.

---------------------------Kelly's

Elizabeth rushed inside of Kelly's and smiled happily when she saw that Emily was already there. She plopped down in the chair opposite from her best friend and let out a relieved breath.

"You're here. Good." Elizabeth breathed out. Emily would be ecstatic to hear that she and Ric were no more. And she could really use someone to talk to at that point. Her first instinct was to run to Jason and tell him. But she decided that Emily was the much better choice.

Giving her friend a quizzical stare Emily asked, "So what's so urgent that I needed to get here as soon as possible?"

"Were you busy? If you were then you didn't need to come. I understand." Elizabeth offered. She was hoping that Emily could stay and talk with her. She needed to have another's opinion.

Emily shook her head quickly. "No, no way. You need me, I'm here."

Sighing out her tension Elizabeth managed a weak smile. "Thanks Em. I love you, you know that right?"

"I love you too, Liz. Now, spill. What's got you so uptight? Is it Jason? Did you tell him?!" Emily's mind once again sped off and Elizabeth couldn't help but roll her eyes.

She shook her head. "Once again with the one track mind. Emily, I told you, his life is complicated enough. He needs some time."

Emily's opinion showed on her face. It was Rider and Jason's decision if they wanted Elizabeth around. And Elizabeth wasn't giving the facts they needed to make that choice. The facts being that Elizabeth desperately wanted to be in their lives in any capacity they would allow her. "You don't know what Jason needs unless he tells you. Same goes for Rider."

"Rider just lost his mother, do you really think he wants some woman swooping down to take care of him and his father?" Elizabeth asked. She would be that woman in a heartbeat if she thought that it was fair to them.

Why couldn't Elizabeth see that Jason and Rider might just want that after all? The question rang in Emily's head, but she knew that both Elizabeth and Jason were stubborn people who had been hurt too many times before to just open up like that. "What do you think Carly does?"

Elizabeth laughed and considered the question. "Swoop and in and take care of Jason and Rider?"

Nodding to show that it was the truth, Emily continued with the people who were helping the pair. "Jason's not exactly turning her away either Elizabeth. He doesn't stop me from helping out. Hell, he's on his way to becoming a mama's boy at the rate he and Monica are going."

Her shock clearly showed on her face, because Emily nodded her head to confirm it. "Monica and Jason are getting close?"

"Monica, Jason and Alan are getting close. Along with Rider. I can tell. Jason doesn't mind them coming around and he's been pretty at ease with him. Plus Mom's mother bear complex has been out full force in the Jason front. Which means she knows something's up in his world." Emily continued. She knew how much it meant to her parents that Jason was allowing them in his and Rider's life.

Elizabeth absorbed all of Emily's words. "I broke up with Ric."

"What? That's great Elizabeth!" Emily enthused. She didn't like Ric and had thought that Elizabeth could do way better from the moment she had spoken with the man. He was too condescending and had that oily quality that she didn't appreciate.

Pleased that Emily agreed with her decision Elizabeth smiled. "It is."

"You did it because of what Ric said to Jason?" Emily asked. Off of Elizabeth's look she explained herself. "I didn't get much out of him. But he told Mom everything and she told me."

Giggling Elizabeth teased at Jason a bit. "He really is a Mama's boy isn't he?"

"I think it's my Mom's dream come true." Emily laughed with her. She was telling the truth, but that didn't change the situation.

Sobering up, Elizabeth answered the question. "I couldn't even bear to look at him after I found out he said all that to Jason."

"You can't protect him from everything Elizabeth." Emily reminded.

* * *

_I hope you liked the chapter! Rider and Michael make their return next chapter. Along with Sonny._


	13. The Bodyguard

**Coming Home: **The Bodyguard

* * *

_Hello everyone! Thanks for all of the reviews for chapter twelve. I really can't thank everyone enough!_

_This chapter is the day after the last one. As promised there is more Rider/Michael mischief and Sonny comes back for this chapter. Along with, of course, Jason._

_---------------------Carly and Sonny's Room_

"Michael, the blue ones are yours, hand over my scissors." Rider stated impatiently. Michael agreed and handed back them back. They sat in Carly and Sonny's room. Michael had suggest monster making and Rider had happily agreed. So they sat on Michael's parent's bed and cut up Carly's fashion magazines to create numerous Frankenstein's.

After successfully cutting around a woman's arm Michael looked back up at Rider. "Did your Dad say anything about Lizzie yet?"

Rider shook his head to say no. "Nope. Not yet. Aunt Emily did though." He supplied as he pasted down a bull's nose to a little girl's face. He was on his second monster and loving every minute of Michael's idea.

"What'd Aunt Emily say then? Somethin' good?" he asked. His Uncle Jason was one of his favorite people in the world and Michael wanted to make sure he was happy. Elizabeth had made him happy in the past, so she could do it again.

Rider grinned. "She said that they're friends again. And she started to say something else, but then she remembered she was talkin' to me and shut up."

"Oooh, look, cat's ears." Michael observed as he cut into the page. "Mommy's been complaining about her. She said that Lizzie was um....what was it? Oh yeah, she was moving in on Uncle Jason all over again."

Laughing at his Aunt Carly's rants, Rider looked down at his finished creation and held it up for Michael's approval. After getting a laugh and a high five from his best friend, Rider started up a new one. "What did Uncle Sonny say after that?"

Michael looked up, "After Mommy said Elizabeth was moving in on him? He just said that they were friends and that she should leave Jason alone."

"Grown-ups are nuts." Rider said, shaking his head.

Across from him, Michael agreed whole-heartedly. "Yeah. Why can't they just see what's in front of 'em? Even if they do they always kind of dance around it or make it worse than it has to be. I'm not going to be like that when I get big."

"Yeah, we won't do that stuff."

_--------------------------Jason and Rider's Penthouse_

If Jason wasn't already in love with his motorcycle, he might seriously considering getting the one on the page he was looking at.

He laid on his couch with the motorcycle magazine in his lap. Michael and Rider were off doing something they probably shouldn't and for the moment, since they weren't in his penthouse, it was fine by him. Hopefully the two had the smarts not to venture into Sonny's kitchen again.

The magazine was a weak attempt at getting his mind off current things. Or more, the people in his world.

Elizabeth being one such person. He didn't know what to do about her and the feelings he was having. He didn't know what it was that he felt for her quite yet, but he knew that it was a strong feeling. Other than his feelings for Rider, it was the strongest thing he'd felt in his life.

He knew he cared about her. He knew he wanted her safe and happy. But did he want himself to be the one to keep her that way?

Deep down he knew the answer to that question. But it was the other questions that swarmed the answer to the first that made things complicated. Did Elizabeth want the same things? Would the people around them be able to accept it? Was she ready? Was he ready?

And, most importantly, what would his son say?

Rider had always picked up on the fact that his parents were different than others. Jason and Isabella didn't kiss or get mushy at any time. He had even asked them why once, all they could tell him was that they loved each other very much and they loved him even more. But their love for each other was very different than the other parents. Rider had seemed satisfied at the time. But what would his son think of his Daddy loving another woman?

The knock at the door startled him and proved just how deep into his thoughts he was. Getting up, he threw aside the magazine that had been long forgotten. Jason slowly walked up to the door and, once he reached it, opened it.

A kid who looked no older than twenty stood confidently in front of Jason. Most unlucky people who managed to get elected to visit Jason Morgan's penthouse - beloved pizza man aside - usually looked terrified. Either Jason had been away far too long, or this kid was just really stupid. And judging from the orange and blue Hawaiian print shirt, Jason was willing to go with the latter.

"Delivery for, um, Jason Morgan? You him, dude?" the kid asked. Jason had met people like him on the island. The only thing they cared about was the next wave. Since they were in Port Charles though, it probably wasn't a wave. But the mannerisms were the same.

Jason nodded, not wanting to start up a conversation with the kid.

The kid jammed his hand in his pocket and then handed Jason the recovered pen, "Right, man. Okay, just sign here and the box is all yours."

Jason quickly scribbled his name and handed the kid a fifty from his pocket. He got a "Like awesome, man!" in response and took the package back inside.

Who in hell would be sending him things was beyond him. Occasionally he would get packages but those were usually the warehouse or the organization. But those days were now over and Jason couldn't come up with a reason as to why he'd be getting something. True, he was looking to see the final papers for his warehouse, but Benny said he would deliver those himself.

Jason used his switchblade from the desk to open the tape that covered the top of the box. Pulling the flaps aside he got a good look at the boxes contents. Gingerly Jason reached his hand inside and pulled out the dead, headless rat by the tail.

In the mob world, a dead rat was a promise to snitches that their number was up. Most of the time, if you got a dead rat, many mob families were behind it and most people died pretty soon after delivery.

Either the headless aspect was to just punctuate the point, or whoever had killed the rat had been feeling creative at the time.

Jason made a quick decision. He could keep it a secret from Sonny and deal with it on his own. Thereby risking getting shot and possibly killed. Or he could tell Sonny and deal with whatever he had in mind. Which was probably something very unpleasant for Jason.

His son's innocent face popped into Jason's mind and he knew that there was no way he could risk getting killed. Not with Rider or Elizabeth needing him. Jason carried the rat out the door and past the confused Johnny before poking his head inside Sonny's penthouse to make sure that Carly or the boys weren't there.

"Jason, what's up?" Sonny questioned. He was alone in the room and Jason quickly hurried inside. He hoped that Rider, Michael or Carly didn't come down.

Jason had the rat behind his back and didn't take it out for a second. "Where are Carly and the kids?"

Sonny used his head to indicate upstairs and narrowed his eyes. "Why?"

Sighing, Jason gave the best explanation he could, "A kid came by to have me sign for a package. I opened the box and got this." Jason raised the rat out in front of him and winced when a drop of dark red blood spilled from the rat's neck and onto the floor.

"Shit." Sonny muttered. Jason nodded his head to agree and sent another look upstairs, praying the boys didn't come down.

Sonny saw where Jason was looking and called for Johnny. Once the loyal guard stuck his head in Sonny made his request. "Take that from Jason and throw it outside. Also, get Francis up here. Sorry John."

Johnny walked forward and took the pre-offered tail from Jason. For a man who had killed people and made countless clean up crew trips, he seemed more grossed out about having to carry a dead rat than when he'd had to do the same for a corpse.

"What in hell am I gonna do now, Sonny?" Jason asked in a loud whisper.

-----------------------Carly and Sonny's Bedroom

"Shhh!" Michael shushed Rider quickly. He had his finger over his lips to indicate that Rider should be quiet for a minute. For his part, Rider shut up quickly.

After mouthing the word "what" to Michael, Rider strained to hear whatever it was that Michael did.

Only seconds later he too could hear it. His father was downstairs and talking to Sonny. Rider jumped off the bed and abandoned his part elephant/ part Barney / part Michelle Branch monster and ran to the door. Michael was quick on his heels and grabbed Rider before he could even open the door.

"What are you, crazy!?" Michael whispered loudly to make sure that Rider got the message.

Rider gave him a strange look, "What are you talking about? I wanna go talk to my Dad."

Putting himself between Rider and the door, Michael shook his head. "No, listen to their voices. They're talking in the 'secret stuff' voices."

"What's the 'secret stuff' voices?" the four year old asked in confusion. It wasn't often that their four-year age difference showed, but at that moment Rider was completely clueless.

Being that Rider hadn't grown up with Carly Corinthos as a mother, Michael understood that he may not have been accustomed to the practice of eavesdropping. "It's a voice they use when they don't want us to hear stuff. Now, if you want to hear it, you gotta go stand by the stairs and listen."

Seeing that Rider wasn't entirely convinced Michael added, "It's the only way to find out the good stuff."

After taking a good second to make his choice, Rider grinned and followed his partner in crime to the staircase. The two boys stood exceptionally quietly by the top of the stairs and listened to the conversation below.

"Jason, look, we'll go back to the five families and tell them what went down when you were arrested."

Luckily for the boys, Sonny's voice carried a lot. Michael shot Rider a look as if to say "Did you know your Dad got arrested?"

Rider shook his head to show that he didn't know about it. Already Rider was seeing that they needed to know this stuff. Being the kids, the adults tried to keep all the important information from them. It took a lot of spying to figure out what was going on. He and Michael exchanged a glance to say that they would need to sort all the conversation out later.

"No, they want to believe what they want. Who knows what they'll say if we go back."

Both Rider and Michael strained to hear Jason. Unlike Sonny, Jason was a quiet talker. Rider looked over at Michael and held up five fingers. Understanding that Rider was asking who the Five Families were, Michael mouthed "later" to him.

"Well what do you want me to do, Jason? I can't keep you safe if they keep trying this shit!"

Michael winced at Sonny's yelling. But Rider was now at full attention. His father was all he had left. And if Uncle Sonny was yelling that his Daddy wasn't safe, then that was a big problem. It took the redhead a minute to realize what his father had yelled but once he had his eyes got large and he quickly stole a glance at Rider.

"I don't know Sonny."

His breath quickened at his father's broken tone and Rider fought all urges to run down to him. Apparently Sonny felt the same way because the yelling stopped and his uncle's voice got softer.

"Until we figure this out Jason, I want...I want you to take a guard for yourself."

Michael's eyes widened and he looked over at Rider, whose mouth was opened. Jason Morgan with a bodyguard was un-heard of. It was clear that Jason felt the same way.

"You're joking, right?"

"No, Jason. I'm not. I wanted you to have a guard from the moment you got home. I didn't ask them, but I'm telling you now. Either you take one voluntarily or I'll assign one anyway."

The gentle tone in Sonny's voice was usually reserved for when Michael had nightmares or Carly was upset and Rider hadn't even heard it before. Not directed at his father at least. Or anyone else for that matter.

They heard Jason sigh and before the words could leave his mouth Rider made his choice and ran down the stairs.

"Daddy! Do what Uncle Sonny says!" he cried and both men looked shocked. Jason was sitting on the couch and Sonny was standing opposite him.

Even after Rider managed to get into Jason's lap, his father was still giving him a strange look. It amazed Jason that the little boy could always be there, right when Jason needed his calming presence. "Ri, were you listening?"

"That doesn't matter." Rider stated. Seeing that his father was about to protest, he hurried on. "It doesn't, what matters is that you get a guard too. And maybe it won't be forever, just for now. But you gotta give it a shot."

Sonny smiled at the little boy. It was clear how much the two loved each other and it still amazed him that Rider seemed to be able to handle so much considering he was still so little.

"Rider, I'm not going to take a guard yet. I promise, that if I have to I will. But for now..."

His son cut him off and used the only card he had left. Even though he knew he would at least feel a little guilty about it later, Rider did it anyway. "Daddy. You can't die like Mommy okay? I need you. Please? For me?"

Jason took a long look at his son's pleading face. Rider was right, he had to take the guard. For his son. He looked up with Sonny and they locked eyes.

"I'll get Francis in here." Sonny said as he walked to the door.

* * *

_I hope you liked the chapter. It was a little heavier, I know. That's why I added the delivery boy and the monster making. To break it up a bit. Also, Michelle Branch is not mine. I made her a part-monster because I don't really like her. And I was tortured today at the store with that shitty song ( no offense to anyone who likes it ) Little Bit of This, Little Bit of That or whatever it's called. So forgive me for that bit._

_Next chapter you get what I'm sure you've all been waiting for! Its not half as heavy as this chapter so you'll all be happy. There's some nice Jason / Rider / Liz stuff coming next!_

_Please Review!_


	14. Sundae Goodness

**Coming Home**: Sundae Goodness

Hello everyone. Thanks for the reviews for the last chapter. This chapter includes some nice Liason/Rider mush, so don't say I'm not a nice person!

I would have updated yesterday, but the site wasn't allowing it, so forgive that guys!

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Outside of Kelly's

"Lizzie's gonna be there, right Daddy?" Rider inquired as he and his father made their way to Kelly's. They were both hungry, and Sonny was nowhere to be found. So Jason decided it was time to go to plan B and head over to Kelly's.

Rider, having had already been there, was more than pleased to make the plan switch.

Gripping his son's had tighter as they crossed the final street before Kelly's, Jason replied, "I don't know Ri. Maybe." What he left out for his son's benefit was that he hoped that she would be there. He knew that both Rider and Elizabeth got along very well, but he wanted to see that for more than the few minutes they had encountered each other in the past.

The sign for Kelly's came into Jason's view and he lifted Rider up into his arms. The little boy wrapped an arm around Jason's neck to keep himself steady, and used the other to grip his shirt. They walked in silence to the door of the diner. Once they reached the windows, Rider peeked inside. At once he spotted Elizabeth.

"Its Lizzie! Put me down so I can say hi." Rider instructed. Jason laughed as he placed his son back on his own two feet. Rider heaved open the door and ran inside with his father going in behind him at a much more leisurely pace.

Elizabeth had been coming around the counter. Considering that her apron hadn't been on like usual, Jason realized that she had probably been on her way out. Her progress to the door, however, was stopped all together when his son launched himself around her legs to hug her.

For a second she looked startled but, as she realized who was hugging her, her smile grew. "Hello, Rider." She greeted enthusiastically.

"Hey Lizzie!" he yelled back at her, causing both Jason and Elizabeth to smile.

Gently, she tore his arms away from her middle before kneeling down so they could have a proper hug. From over Rider's head, Elizabeth saw that Jason was watching them. Her smile grew when she saw the proud love-filled expression on his face. They locked eyes for a second before Rider pulled away from the hug.

"Me and Daddy were hungry, but Uncle Sonny wasn't at his place." Rider explained in an energetic tone.

Elizabeth laughed, her day suddenly looking brighter. "And you were too afraid to try your father's cooking?"

Putting on a mock-hurt expression, Jason strode over to the two and kneeled down to be at eye level with them. "Hey. That's not fair. I'm not that bad. Carly's worse." Elizabeth laughed again, and Jason loved the fact that he had said something to make her laugh.

Rider winced and put his hand on his father's shoulder. "Sayin' you're better than Aunt Carly isn't too much Daddy. She's really really bad. But so are you. Other than frozen pizza and peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. Cause then you're the best." He said, trying to cheer up his father even though he knew that Jason wasn't really upset.

"Thanks Rider. At least my son appreciates my cooking." Jason directed at Elizabeth. She smiled again and got up from her knees. Jason followed her suit and then picked Rider up and set him on a barstool so he was as tall as the rest of them. Well, almost as tall.

Elizabeth put her hands together and let them lean to the side, something that Jason noticed she did a lot. She smiled but tried to suppress it. "Well, my fine gentlemen…."

At that moment, Rider leaned over and whispered to Jason. "I didn't know we were gentlemen. Are gentlemen allowed to make slime and watch cartoons?"

Shrugging to his son, Jason then sent his full attention to the waiting Elizabeth. She cleared her throat dramatically. "As I was saying, we here at Kelly's do have a fine selection of foods for you to choose from."

She walked around the counter and then put one hand to her chest to indicate to herself. "I am Elizabeth and I will be your waitress today. Would you like a table or a seat at the counter?"

Rider giggled at her professional manner and turned to his father. The smirk on Jason's face let Rider know that it was his choice. "Well, my fine waitress," Elizabeth choked back a snort of laughter as her words were thrown back at her. "-my father and I would like to invite you to eat with us."

At those exact words, Penny strode through the door. After seeing Jason and Rider she merely winked in Elizabeth's direction before scurrying into the kitchen.

"And you don't have a reason to say no." Jason added once Penny was out of sight. He knew that the other woman had come into relieve Elizabeth and was pleased that she seemed to be about to say that she would be eating with them.

Nodding his agreement to his father's words, Rider sent her an expectant look. Elizabeth couldn't believe how similar they were. Even though she knew that they had identical eyes, it almost seemed illegal that two people could have such intense stares. "Well, how could I say no to my two favorite men?"

Jason smiled, as did Rider. "So, waitress, we'll take the table." Rider snuck in. Elizabeth got the hint that he was hungry and laughed. She brought around a menu and swept her arms out in the famous gesture to show them where to sit. Rider chose his side of the table and sat. Jason grabbed a chair from the opposite table and set it down between Rider's seat and his own.

Once Jason was seated Elizabeth handed the menu to Rider. "Your Dad already knows everything on that menu, so you can look over it instead." Rider took the menu and suddenly it occurred to Elizabeth how old the little boy was. Four year olds were not common readers. She instantly felt stupid and apologized. "Oh, I'm sorry Rider. Here, I'll read it for you."

She started to snatch the menu from Rider's hands but he pulled it aside at the last second. Elizabeth sent a quizzical glance Jason's way, but saw that he didn't think that any of Rider's actions were peculiar. Rider opened the menu and seemed to scan it for a second. Within seconds he made his selection. "Number three please!"

Stifling a laugh in his hand, Jason merely smiled at Elizabeth's surprised look. "Ri can read Elizabeth. He's been able to for a while now."

"Well, that's better than what could be said for me when I was four. Alright, hot dog and fries for the scholar and for you?" She said as she turned to Jason with an expectant look on her face.

Jason appeared to be contemplating his choices very seriously. Rider laughed, knowing full and well that his father didn't stray far from his cheeseburgers or pizza. Jason realized the same thing and gave in to tradition, "Cheeseburger and fries."

Rolling her eyes at him, Elizabeth nodded and walked into the kitchen. Jason leaned forward and whispered to his son so Elizabeth wouldn't hear them. "Still like her?"

"Yeah, a 'course. Do _you _still like her?" Rider asked, smiling knowingly. Jason wasn't really aware that his son knew that much of the history between the two of them. Which he didn't. He just knew that there was a history, based on Emily and Michael. Also, he knew it because he had eyes. And it didn't take long for someone to see that Jason and Elizabeth had something going on between them.

"Why would you ask that?" Jason questioned curiously. His mind was replaying all of his conversations with Rider. It only took a second to realize that his sister would have to be behind whatever knowledge Rider had on the subject.

Rider shrugged simply. "Just cause. Well, do you?" Curiosity getting the best of him. His father was spared an answer when Elizabeth walked back out. Both boys sat back in their seats.

If she noticed that conversation had stopped when she entered the room again, Elizabeth didn't let on. She sat down in the chair that Jason had brought over for her. "Your food will be ready in a minute."

"Thanks, Elizabeth." Jason politely responded. He sent an expectant look towards his son.

Rider grinned and yelled, "Thanks Lizzie!"

For her part, Elizabeth merely laughed. "Your both most welcome. Your lucky that Kelly's keeps a wide range of hours. Or you two would be in big trouble right about now."

Jason nodded, agreeing with her. "Yeah, if Sonny goes on a business trip then Rider and I are in big trouble. Carly and Michael too. We'll be living off pizza."

"Oooh, Daddy, lets have pizza tonight. Its Ricky's night." Rider interjected happily. Ricky was his favorite of the pizza deliverymen. There were generally three that came to their place. According to all three of them, all of the other people at the restaurant thought they were the bravest men alive for venturing up to the Morgan penthouse. Of course, what all of the others didn't know was that the Morgan men loved pizza too much to harm any of the pizza guys and risk having the place ban them. Along with the fact that Jason, after a few runs to the penthouse, became friendly with the three men and gave out huge tips.

Elizabeth looked completely confused by what was being said around her. The fact that Jason nodded to Rider to signify that he agreed and understood only threw her for an even bigger loop. "Ricky?"

"The pizza man!" Rider stated as though she should have known.

Confusion soon gave way to disbelief. "You know the pizza men by name and shift?" She knew that Jason didn't cook at all and that pizza – since it was conveniently delivered right to your door – was probably eaten a lot at the Morgan household. But to know all of the deliverymen was just pathetic.

Jason too realized the absurdity of the situation and ducked his head down with an embarrassed smile on his face, "Well, maybe."

Shaking her head, Elizabeth let out a sigh. "No comment."

Rider laughed at her "comment" and reached out for the crayons that sat in the cup on the table. His place mat was paper, which was probably what the crayons were meant for. "Aunt Emily says you're a artist."

Nodding, Elizabeth smiled warmly at him. "Yes, I am. I painted your Daddy a picture once."

"Really?" Rider asked, looking up from what appeared to be the start of a beach scene. Much to Jason's amusement.

Answering the question for her, Jason nodded also. "Really. But I didn't have a place for it so she's been holding on to it for me."

"It's called The Wind and it's a picture of the wind from the back of your Dad's motorcycle." Elizabeth explained best she could. Most people didn't understand what she was talking about, and even when they saw the painting, they had no clue. It was the type of thing that only a motorcycle enthusiast would understand. That was, if they understood the wind.

Before Rider had the chance to comment, Penny leaned out from the kitchen. "Elizabeth? Their order is up."

Getting up, Elizabeth quickly walked to the kitchen. Seconds later she returned with Jason and Rider's plates. She set them down on the table and returned to her seat. It only took the plates and food being in front of them for all of thirty seconds before the two dug in happily.

She watched the feeding frenzy with wide eyes. Obviously they'd waited for Sonny for quite sometime before they'd given up and headed to Kelly's. "Calm down guys. We can make seconds if you're that hungry."

Jason looked up at her and then across at Rider, who was still stuffing his face, and got a sheepish expression on his face. "Sorry. You wouldn't believe how many time someone has said something like that to us since we got back."

"Judging by the rate you two are going at it, I'd say a lot." Elizabeth said with a laugh. "You're going to make yourselves sick!"

At that comment, Rider looked up from his french fries to give her an eye roll. "It's never happened before. But everyone always says that!"

Elizabeth and Rider started their conversation anew. Jason was amazed by how well the two got along. He'd never seen Rider so open with someone so soon. Even with Sonny and Carly it had taken days before he had made up his mind about them. The only other people that Rider had taken to so quickly were Michael and Emily. Michael probably because they were both around the same age. And Emily because she had been there ever since he was a baby.

The words that the two spoke were quickly drowned out by Jason's thoughts. He loved Elizabeth, which was obvious. But he loved Rider ten times more and always would. When he had made the choice to return to Port Charles, Elizabeth had been one of his thoughts. He'd had several hard choices to make once the decision had been made and Rider had given his approval to it.

His involvement with the mob being one of them. It hadn't taken a lot to see that he could no longer be Sonny's enforcer. He loved the job, and always had. But the danger was no longer an acceptable risk for him to be taking. His son needed him to be there, and with bullets flying at him that was a hard thing to guarantee.

Allowing the Quartermaines into his son's life – and his own by association – was also a hard choice. The old feelings that he wasn't what they wanted and never would be had come back. Jason Quartermaine was gone and was long ago made part of history. According to both Emily and Lila, the Qs now accepted that fact. But that didn't stop him from worrying.

The final problem he'd had, was Elizabeth. Emily had filled him in at full detail of her current life. With Ric out of the picture he had a clear shot at being with her. But did she even want to be with him? They were friends, and he didn't want to wreck that. And he didn't want his son to not like the idea. Isabella was Rider's mother. And she always would be, but if Elizabeth were there…she would be replaced. Not at first, but the roles and duties that Isabella had taken care of would be handed over to Elizabeth a little at a time.

Instead of Isabella, it would be Elizabeth updating the penthouse, making it her own. She would be the one to talk with Rider and do some of the mothering aspects. Rider may or may not want or even like that.

And Isabella. She relished in her role of wife and mother, even if the wife part only included a name. She loved taking care of people, it was part of who she was. Would she care that now there may be some other woman doing what she had done for her family?

A memory drifted into Jason's thoughts. He could see Isabella's face as clear as if she was saying the words to him again. She was still giving him the serious look that she had perfected. It grabbed your attention and let you know that she was only going to say it once.

"Jason, you can't hide from someone you love forever. I know you love her, it's pretty easy to see. And from what you've told me about her, she loves you back." She held her hand up to ward off his protests. "Don't keep telling yourself she doesn't."

_She sighed and flipped her hair back like she did a million times a day. "I love you. You're the greatest friend I've ever had. I want you happy Jason. I know Rider does too. It wouldn't be hard to switch our arrangement up" _

_For a second, she just stared at him. "I don't want you alone forever. You'll always have Rider and me. But you deserve to be with her. You'll both regret it later if you don't at least try. Who knows, maybe she already does regret not going away with you. You can run from it and her for the rest of your life. But that life won't be very much."_

"_You're too giving for your own good." She said with a smile. "Its time to go after what you want Jason. Maybe not today or maybe not until Rider's a little older and you've run out of excuses. But either way, you need to go after what you want. I know you Jason, and I've got a pretty good idea about Elizabeth. Neither one of you will say what you want for fear that maybe you'll get rejected. Stop being afraid. Not of that. What you should be afraid of is when you're a old man and you go each day wondering how it could have gone." _

After her speech, she had given him a hug and walked back to their house. She didn't ever talk about Elizabeth again to him. Jason knew that she would have been okay with their relationship. She might even have been okay with Elizabeth being a bigger part of Rider's life.

Judging from the way that Rider acted around Elizabeth, he wouldn't mind his father having a girlfriend. Which meant that the only thing holding them back was themselves.

He knew what he wanted, but did she want the same thing? And if she did, how would he tell her that he felt the same way?

"Jason? Would that be alright?" Elizabeth's voice floated into his subconscious.

Startled more than he liked to admit, Jason pushed himself back into the conversation. Both Rider and Elizabeth were staring at him. Rider was looking slightly concerned and Jason pushed forward an embarrassed smiled just for his son's sake. "I'm sorry. I wasn't even paying attention. What do you want to know about being alright?"

"Can Rider make a sundae?" Elizabeth asked again as though she'd already said it a hundred times before. Considering how far into his thoughts he had been, it wasn't all that hard to believe.

Nodding quickly, Jason gave his approval. "Of course he can."

Elizabeth got up from her seat, "Okay, I'll go get you the stuff Rider. Be right back."

She hurried back into the kitchen and Jason was left with a worried stare from his son. "Daddy? Are you sure you're okay?"

He'd obviously been ignoring the question longer than he'd thought. While it didn't take a lot for Rider to get protective, it didn't usually entail over hearing loss. "I'm fine, buddy. I was just thinking." His son's expression didn't change one bit. "Really."

Shrugging, Rider simply pretended to let him off the hook. "Okay." But Jason knew full and well from experience that Rider would be watching his every move for the rest of the day. No matter how hard he tried to convince his son he was fine. Besides, he already had Francis outside the door watching Rider and himself.

Elizabeth came back to the room balancing a large tray in one hand and bowls and spoons in the other. She looked as though it were a fine balancing act. Jason quickly jumped up and took the tray from her and set it on the table.

"Thanks." She directed to Jason with a smile, before turning to Rider. "Alright, Rider, we've got both chocolate and vanilla ice cream. And there's Oreo bits, crumbled cookies, hot fudge, whipped cream, gummy bears, rainbow sprinkles, bananas and cherries. Plus, I've stolen some strawberry sauce from the fridge for you to use too."

The little boy's eyes widened as he took in all of the items on the tray for him to use. Jason groaned, but for entirely different reasons.

He was just imagining the mess that his son would make.

* * *

Nice long chapter. This one has actually been taking me a LONG time. I'd start some of it up and then get called away. I'm glad to be done though! As you can tell, my house is really hot right now so I'm envisioning a nice sundae myself (this would have been written during the summer). The other nice thing to this story is the easy pace I have with it. I think from now on, I'm starting stories and writing them till they are mostly complete, THEN posting them. This really is a much nicer system. I started this in January and now its July. That's how relaxed my schedule is for this.

So everyone please let me know what you think.

Review!

**For Sam**


	15. The Price You Will Pay

**Coming Home**:_ The Price You Will Pay_

* * *

_Hi guys! Thanks to every one of the reviewers, you don't know how much I appreciate the feedback. This chapter won't be as long as the last one, but I promise that the next one is longer again._

_I'm so sorry that I didn't update yesterday per usual. I hadwork and a LOT of homework. I didn't get the chance to really get online. I would have posted this earlier, but I had work again (though, happily, not that much homework). _

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - -Sonny's Limo

Johnny drove quickly and quietly while Sonny sat in the back of the limo. The loyal guard knew exactly why they were going to the abandoned warehouse and he knew that Sonny did not want to speak with anyone on the way there.

His latest visit to the five families was one that Jason was not to know of. Sonny knew that Jason thought that a return trip was a waste of time. But he also knew that if Jason knew that he wanted to go to the five families, then his friend would insist upon going too.

That was one thing that Sonny didn't want. Jason returning wouldn't get the point across the way he wanted it to. With Jason's absence it would show that he was no longer involved with them in any way. His last and final meeting with the five families had been for the sake of respect. By going alone it would be as if he were heading into the meeting on behalf of Carly or Michael. On the behalf of his family.

The dead rat was a symbol that Sonny understood. Jason was being told that his number was up and he wouldn't be safe anywhere. It was a message that Sonny himself had sent to many men before. But this was not warranted.

He was still slightly angry that Jason hadn't told him that he'd been arrested. Carly either for that matter. Those were things he needed to know, which Jason knew too. The damage was already done however, and now all he could do was fix it.

The car rolled to a stop and he could hear Johnny getting out from the front of the car. Sonny took a deep breath and followed his guard. He didn't bother to survey the area once he was out of the vehicle. That was his men's concern, not his own. The five families were not dumb enough to start anything just yet.

Once he was inside of the warehouse, he took a full minute to look at each of the mob heads. His eyes were cold. But instead of masking his face, he let out all of his emotions. They played across his face and let each man know what was going on inside of him.

The anger, the disappointment and the rage. He hid his fear - that was not apart of his mission. Not for them to know about and not for anyone else to see.

"I assume you all know why you have been called here." Sonny assessed as he sat down at the head of the table.

There were nods from all of the men. Except Taggliotti. Besides him, they all suddenly looked deflated. As though their own greatness was suddenly hallow and they knew their places again. Jason's cold dead look could strike fear into the hearts of anyone. But the look that they had all just received from Sonny, that would knock anyone down far below their normal inflation. That was what he had been aiming for.

Taggliotti, however, was not looking anything but smug. As though he was the head of the mob in Port Charles. "Mr. Morgan went against his word, we are justified in out actions."

"Mr. Morgan punched Scotty Baldwin and was then released from custody. His visit to the police station had nothing to do with my organization." Sonny explained calmly. Only two of the men seemed to be understanding and believing him. The looks on their faces rang comprehension and Sonny knew that they now regretted going with Taggliotti.

But Sammy did not want to back down. Jason was a wildcard in their business and it was better off for him if Jason was gone. If, for some reason, Jason did return to the mob Corinthos' power would be doubled. Jason Morgan was a force to be reckoned with. He was also a force that many were afraid to anger. "How can we be sure of this?"

"Because I am telling you that's what went down." Sonny countered smoothly. Sammy was becoming a thorn in his side, the man did not know when to stop. He reminded Sonny of Sorel. Which was not something that anyone who wanted to live very long should strive to remind Sonny of.

Taggliotti rolled his eyes. He still had his two other supporters, even though two of the other mob heads were now off of his side, as it seemed. "We need reassurance. Your word is not enough for us to endanger our businesses."

Sonny sent another death stare Taggliotti's way. "If my word is not good enough for you, maybe my bullets will be."

"Is that a threat?" Taggliotti asked slowly as his eyes narrowed.

"Yes." Sonny responded easily. None of that "No, it's a promise" crap. Straight out, it was the truth. There was no need to hide it under old worn lines.

The men at the table shifted uncomfortably. Sonny paid them no notice. Taggliotti was the one behind the rat, he was the one Sonny would deal with. "I'm only saying this once more. You hurt Jason - I'll kill you. You leave him and his son alone. If you don't _Sammy_," Sonny sneered his name out, "I'll take your territory. Do you know how fast I can get hundreds of men in here? A few phone calls. You think you can stand up to me against all of that?"

When the man across from him said nothing in response to his question, Sonny slammed his hand against the table. "Answer me!"

"No." Sammy bitterly stated. It was true, Sonny knew it, Sammy knew it and the rest of the people in the warehouse knew it.

"That's right, you can't. You'd be dead and your organization would be mine." Sonny informed him in his deadly cold whisper. His eyes were hard and he was the picture of a ruthless mob boss.

Standing, Sonny regarded them all with a cold stare. "Leave Jason Morgan alone."

This time, everyone understood.

* * *

_Shorter chapter. But at least they all get the "hurt Jason and die" message. And that's always good. Right? Next chapter is mushier and involves the Morgans and Corinthos'. That chapter is also a lot longer._

_Please, **REVIEW!**_

_**Also: **I realize that you're all probably wondering what's up with my updating. Truth be told, I'm finding it harder and harder to write for a show that I can't stand. As if that didn't suck enough, I'm also a lot busier than I was last year. I was very - VERY - stupid to have posted so many stories at once. As now I have quite the work load. And I also know that you most likely don't want to hear about my updating issues. So I'll just cut to the chase. YES, I do plan on finishing my stories. NO, do not expect the update times of old when I did updates every other day. And, YES, updates will be few and far between (this story excluded, Mondays as usual guys). I am SO SORRY. **And, thank you all so much for hanging in there with me. **_

**_Sister of the Moon_**


	16. Breakfast

**Coming Home: **Breakfast

_Thanks for all of the reviews for the last chapter. This one, as promised, is much longer. Excuse the chapter title, its dull – I know. But hey, who really cares? Also, I was thinking that Rider hasn't spent much time with Sonny and Carly. So I kind of wanted to show some of that too._

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Morgan Penthouse

The sunlight streamed through the windows and danced around the rooms of the penthouse. It was eight in the morning, and the whole place was quiet. With the exception of a little boy's groan of frustration.

Rider once again unsuccessfully tried to shake Jason into awareness. "Daddy!" But Jason kept sleeping without so much as a flicker of his eyes. Rider had been trying to wake his father for what seemed like forever. But sadly, Jason would not be coaxed out of sleep.

Early mornings were all the more dull when he was by himself. Not that Jason overslept very often. But some mornings it appeared that his dad was dead to the world until at least nine in the morning. Usually that meant Rider was condemned to cartoons for the duration of Jason's sleep. Considering he was too little to just roam Port Charles by himself, he had to stay in the penthouse.

But this morning, Rider didn't want to just sit and veg in front of the TV. He wanted to do _something_. And while he loved early morning cartoons, they just weren't going to hold his attention.

His eyes scanned the inside of his bedroom for some form of activity. But suddenly, all his toys looked boring. The ones that didn't required two people at least. Since his father was asleep, he wouldn't be able to play those.

A brilliant idea flashed into his head. Michael! He'd go wake up Michael. It was only across the hall after all, which was technically leaving the penthouse. But Jason had said that Rider could go over there anytime he wanted to. Which meant he did have a loophole.

Quickly as he could, Rider got dressed in jean shorts and a t-shirt. His excitement was ready to burst over. He was imagining all of the creative – meaning cruel – ways he could wake Michael up.

As he charged down the stairs, his mind was debating whether water on top of his head or putting honey in his hands then tickling his face would be a better form of an alarm clock. While honey would be funnier, it might mean a bit of a punishment later on. Besides, water was easier to get. Sneaking around in Uncle Sonny's kitchen was a bit dangerous.

Quietly as a four year old could manage, Rider opened the door and paused. When he heard no sign of his father waking, he slipped out. Once he and Michael were safely back in the penthouse they wouldn't have to worry about his father waking up and flipping out when his son was missing. He tiptoed across the hall.

Johnny and Francis had only gotten to the penthouses from their own apartments that were located downstairs five minutes ago. Both were alert, albeit a tad sleepy. But they were both used to early mornings.

Francis nudged Johnny in the side and pointed to the short intruder that was standing in front of them. Once Johnny spotted Rider, all three of them raised one finger to their lips – the universal sign for "Shh!"

Grinning that the guards wouldn't give him away, Rider went through the doorway and Johnny shut the door behind him.

The Corinthos penthouse was just like the Morgan one, in that the light was shinning in almost painfully. With light-feet Rider dashed across the floor. He knew which room was Michael's and that meant having to go past his parent's room. And that could be risky. The honey plan was set-aside for another morning, as Rider had decided water was much simpler.

He had just reached the stairs when a voice scared him into a complete stop.

"Rider!? What are you doing here?" Sonny asked as he walked out of the kitchen. He had gotten up early to make breakfast, which he was planning on inviting not only his family to, but Jason and Rider also.

Once he had walked out of the hallway and into the main living/dining room he'd spotted the little boy. Quickly, Sonny pushed his grin aside. He had a fair guess as to why Rider was coming over so early, namely to wake up his son. But instead of keeping his grin, Sonny let it slide of his face with some difficulty and changed his face to a stern expression.

Rider turned his whole body around slowly to face his Uncle Sonny. "Um, good morning?"

"Good morning? That's what you came over to say? I think that could have waited until a little later. Does your father know you're here?" Sonny asked, knowing full and well that if Rider was sneaking over to play with Michael that Jason would have to be in a coma in bed. Considering Jason's stand on mornings, that he was not the type of person to like them, it was easy to believe.

Eyes wide and mind searching for a evading answer, Rider didn't even know what to say. His plan had not included getting caught. Not that many plans ever did include that aspect. "He's, ah, well, Daddy's asleep."

Nodding, Sonny responded approvingly. "That I can believe."

"Why are _you_ up?" Rider asked slowly with narrowing eyes. His arms crossed over his chest and despite the fact he was four he looked very serious. Sonny once again worked hard to suppress his grin and keep the laughs down.

Sonny walked around the dinning room table and moved until he was exactly across from Rider, with about ten feet between them. He too crossed his arms and narrowed his eyes. "I'm the adult here, I don't have to answer that."

"So you were doing somethin' bad." Rider surmised. A smirk developed on his face and he looked pleased with himself. As though he'd countered with a quick comeback. Which, technically, he had.

"Is this the part where I'm supposed to spill what I was doing to try and defend myself?" Sonny questioned. He hadn't spent much time with Rider since his godson had returned from the island that he and Jason had lived on. So he was going to take this opportunity to do so.

Plan obviously spoiled, Rider didn't miss a beat either way. "Nah, that was the part where I called you on bein' bad."

Chuckling, Sonny knelt down in front of Rider and let his voice drop to a conspiring tone. "Okay, you've got me. You want to come see what I was doing?"

Grinning, Rider nodded happily. "Yeah!"

Now that their battle of the banter was done, Sonny could enlist the little boy's help in breakfast making. After numerous cooking lessons to Jason, Sonny had come to the conclusion early on that his best friend was hopeless. But there was a chance to turn Jason's son into a semi-alright cook. That was, if they started early before Jason's ways got into him.

He led Rider to the kitchen and Rider looked up questioningly at him. "You want _me_ to go in _there_?"

The bewildered voice was pretty obvious. "Well, if you want to help me cook, then you do kind of need to go in."

"I get ta cook too!?" Rider yelled. He quickly remembered that everyone else was asleep and blushed. "Oops."

Once they were both safely in the confines of Sonny's kitchen, Rider stood off to the side. Sonny quirked an eyebrow at him, "You coming in all the way?"

"Daddy says you're weird about your kitchen." Rider explained. Which, after the slime incident, was very obvious to him even without his father's warnings about it.

Sheepishly, Sonny had to give the kid that. "When it comes to someone cooking in here when they shouldn't, then yeah, I'm weird about it." Sonny said in Rider's wording. "But you I'm inviting to cook in here. So, if you want to help me, then you're welcome to."

Once Rider nodded vigorously yet again, Sonny grinned. He picked Rider up and set him on a stool that was around the island. "Okay, helper, how about we make eggs first?"

"Okay." Rider simply stated. Sonny got out all of the stuff needed – mainly eggs, a whisk, a bowl and some salt and pepper – and set them down. He went about showing Rider what to do and watching while Rider copied it back.

Sonny turned around to get a pan ready to cook them in once he was sure Rider could handle the task. While it was very simple, Carly and Jason had both had problems with it when he had showed them. "So, you and your Dad happy to be here?"

"Everyone asks us that!" came the exclamation behind him, but Rider did go on to answer the question. "But yeah, I like it. An' I really think Daddy does too. I think he missed everyone."

Turing to grab the bowl from Rider and start appraising the work, Sonny waved one hand in the air to motion for more. "Everyone meaning…"

"Aunt Emily, you and Aunt Carly. Michael. Grandmother and Lizzie." Rider listed.

He nodded and poured the eggs into the pan and started stirring. "Yeah, he probably did. Rider, grab some fruit out of the fridge?" Rider hopped down from his stool and did what Sonny asked. "We all missed him too. We're really glad you and Jason are back. Here, take this knife and cut up the fruit, okay?"

"Okay! I'ca do that." Rider informed him. Anyone else would have been mortified that Sonny had told a little four year old to use a knife. But the one that Sonny had handed him was a dull butter knife. It wouldn't cut Rider, but it would cut the fruit.

Once the eggs and fruit were all set, Sonny started out on bacon, which was something that didn't require a whole lot of help for. Rider worked on using the butter knife to butter some bread for toast. "How long have you and Daddy been friends?"

The question startled Sonny. "A long time." He said with a smile. It felt longer than it actually had been though. "We met at a blue's club. Luke's. Did your Dad tell you about Luke?"

"Yep. He said that Luke is kinda crazy." The little boy told him without looking up from the slice of bread he was slathering up with butter.

Sonny laughed. "Crazy is a good word for Luke. But he is a good guy. The club is his, I used to own part of it too. But I don't now, haven't in a long time."

The two laughed and kept talking. It didn't take long before the food was done and set out on the table. Sonny was feeling pretty good about his morning talk with Rider. Every once and a while the little boy would say something so utterly Jason that he'd be shocked. But it would quickly wear off when he realized that everyone always said how much like Jason Rider was.

"So, you go wake up your Dad, and I'll get Aunt Carly and Michael. Sound good?" Sonny asked as he opened the door. Johnny and Francis were still situated outside and quickly stopped their thumb war at the sight of Sonny, who had luckily not seen them.

"I'll get'im up." Rider declared and marched back into the penthouse as thought it were a battlefield. Once he got inside he listened quietly for a second and realized that his father was still asleep.

Rolling his eyes, Rider headed up the stairs and into his father's room. He backed up away from the bed until his back was against the wall. Then, with a burst of speed, Rider ran and vaulted himself up onto the bed. Directly onto Jason.

"UGH!" Jason yelled as Rider's knees connected with his stomach. "What are you doing?"

His son smiled innocently. "Nothin', just getting' you up!" Rider declared while pretending to bat his eyelashes like all of the girls in the cartoons did. Jason started to crack up and had to bury his face in his hands to keep out visions of his son doing that. Rider was one of the few people who could actually send Jason into hysterics.

Actually, he was the only person.

"Oh stop that! You're going to make my sides hurt!" Jason yelled good-naturedly. Once his laughs subsided, he looked back out. Rider had – thankfully – stopped and was just sitting on the bed watching his father.

"You done now?" Rider asked in a deadpan voice, " 'Cause Uncle Sonny and I made breakfast."

Jason's eyebrows raised on their own accord. "You made breakfast? With Sonny? _In his kitchen?_" He asked incredulously. Obviously Sonny had been confused, because he normally let no one in his kitchen. Let alone the kid who "destroyed" it with a little slime making.

"He said that he wanted to teach me how. So I won' be like you." Rider explained with a grin. "Uncle Sonny said I did good."

Raising his eyes heavenward, Jason just shook his head. "That sounds like Sonny." He sighed and got out of bed. He was clad solely in sweatpants and didn't see the point of getting dressed. Sonny and Carly didn't care. Nor did Michael or Rider. "So, Ri, what did you guys make?"

"Um, eggs. I helped with those. I did all the mixin' and stuff. But Uncle Sonny cooked'em. I cut up all the fruit." Rider started explaining. Jason didn't appear to be worried that he'd been cutting things, he trusted Sonny with his son. "I buttered all the toast and put them in the toaster. And Uncle Sonny made bacon."

Jason smiled appreciatively. "Eggs, bacon, fruit and toast. Sounds good to me." He put his hand on Rider's back and led him out of the room. The both of them made their way out of their penthouse and into Sonny's.

Once Jason had opened the door the smell of the breakfast hit him. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath. He made a small satisfied moan and looked down at Rider. "Hello, mini-Sonny."

Rider giggled, "Come on." He demanded as he dragged Jason inside the penthouse and to the table where the Corinthos' were already sitting.

Carly looked dead in her chair. She, like Jason, was still in her pajamas. Her hair was looking slightly disheveled. "Morning Jase." She greeted with closed eyes. Considering Sonny had said that Rider was out getting Jason, there were few possibilities who Rider could be talking to.

"Hi Uncle Jason, and you too Rider! I didn't know you could cook." Michael greeted enthusiastically. He was looking far more awake than Carly or Jason, but was still in his jammies too.

In an undertone, Jason added. "Neither did I."

But the two boys ignored him. "Your Daddy showed me what ta do." Rider explained as he and Jason sat down at the other side of their table. With Sonny at the head, Carly was seated next him – her back facing the window, which was something Jason noticed when he got a full blast of light in his eyes. Michael sat next to Carly and Rider sat opposite him. Which left Jason the seat opposite Carly, whom he glared at. All he got in response from Carly was a cheery but forced smile.

"Dig in guys, Rider and I made a lot." Sonny encouraged. Jason and Carly sent him looks that clearly told him not to start in on eating habits.

The table, nevertheless, did exactly what he told them to. Within minutes their plates were filled. Jason quickly ate some of the eggs, which Rider had told him that he took part in. They were pretty good. Sonny-quality.

"Wow, Ri, these are great! Watch out, I'll make you cook pretty soon." Jason praised. Rider smiled, enjoying the limelight and his father's praise.

The rest of the table gave their thanks too. Jason was right, the food was good. Sonny sat back and allowed Rider to take all the credit. He sent his newest – and most promising – pupil a smile. "Well done, Rider."

"You're a good teacher." Rider told him.

"Your father and Aunt Carly didn't seem to think so." Sonny said with a laugh as he sent the jab Carly and Jason's way.

Carly's eyes narrowed, "Well, maybe if some people weren't so obsessive…"

Sonny clapped a hand against his heart. He pretended to look outraged. "Obsessive! I did the best I could with what I had to work with. Which, considering yours and Jason's cooking skills, wasn't a lot."

"Hey! I can't help it if I'm bad at cooking!" Jason cut in. Rider and Michael just sat back and watched the show. Their parent's banter tended to be pretty funny. Especially when Sonny stared trying to get Jason and Carly to eat healthy stuff. The looks that would go onto their faces were the best.

Rolling his eyes, Sonny countered, "I tried to teach you."

"Its hard." Jason weakly defended himself. It wasn't much of an argument on his part though. And both he and Sonny knew that. But it was all he had, so he was going to use it either way.

"Jason, your four year old just made a pretty good breakfast. It can't be that hard!" Sonny pointed out.

Rider opened his mouth in protest. "Hey!" he cried. Michael could take no more and started shaking in silent laughter, which he didn't even attempt to hide.

The rest of the table realized the absurdity of their argument and joined Michael in laughing. They had all missed each other, it felt good back to be back with their family. The Corinthos/Morgan group all understood each other, and that was something they rarely found with people outside of their family.

"Okay, okay, Rider is a very adult four year old." Sonny conceded, and then looked down the table to Rider, "Better?"

Folding his arms across his chest and sticking his nose in the air, Rider responded, "Yes!"

This sent Michael into a fresh set of giggles. "I'm never gonna finish if you guys don't stop!" he complained as he nearly choked on some bacon. Carly pounded him on the back and Michael stopped coughing. "Uhh. There."

"You okay there, buddy?" Jason asked as he chomped down on some toast.

Nodding, Michael reassured them before his father raced down the table. "Yeah. But quit being funny, laughing and eatin' isn't easy!"

Even Sonny laughed at Michael's request. And Michael himself indigently cried, "Hey! I thought I said stop!"

"Excuse us, Mr. Man." Carly said as she finished her laughs. "Couldn't help it." She looked over each of the boys at the table. "So, men, what are the plans for today?"

Sonny appeared to be imagining a calendar in his mind. After a second, he made a face. "I have a meeting at the warehouse with a distributor."

"Who is it?" Jason asked, as meetings with distributors used to be something he did. It wasn't something he missed. Some of the guys would be nice. But more often than not there were some real jerks that had to be dealt with. "Anyone I know?"

Taking a deep breath, Sonny said, "Yeah. Mr. Camison. He's up here from Puerto Rico to renegotiate their contract with us."

Wincing, Jason sympathetically patted Sonny's arm. "Good luck." He remembered the man that Sonny mentioned. The snottiest most full of himself man that Jason had ever met. Something that Jason didn't like dealing with. It usually took all of his patience. It was times like right then that Jason didn't miss working at all.

"Alright, so Sonny is stuck with a meeting. What about you Michael?" Carly asked as she popped some fruit into her mouth. She looked expectantly at Michael.

Both Rider and Michael locked eyes, "Um, Rider and I can hang out." Michael answered with a shrug. All three adults were the next ones to exchange looks. When the two cousins said that, it usually meant trouble.

Jason quickly cut in before Sonny could question them. Most likely, they would tell Jason before they did it. He could then help them or try to change their minds. They listened to him, since he didn't outright tell them no. It was a system that worked. "I think I'm going to head down at to the bike shop and start getting that started."

His son tapped his leg to show thanks without saying it. Michael just grinned. Whatever they were planning, it would be interesting to hear about. Carly accepted his answer. And Sonny left it alone. But he did manage to question Carly a bit. "What are you doing today?"

"Go visit Bobbie, maybe we'll go shopping." She mused with a far away look in her eyes.

All the men groaned and Carly got up to smack them all in turn. "Stop that. Shopping isn't that bad!"

Rider went wide-eyed and clenched his teeth together while opening his mouth in an expression of disbelief and horror. Michael gave her a look. "Come on, its boring."

"I'm not even going to try. None of you appreciate shopping." She said with a shake of her head. "So, who needs new what?"

Jason groaned and dropped his head into his hands. "Oh no. I forgot she did that."

"How could you forget that?" Sonny asked. While Carly didn't usually buy him lots of clothes, something that he did on his own, she did do it for Jason. Her defense was that he hated shopping, so why not just do it for him?

"Don't know." Jason said sadly. He looked across to the expectant Carly. "Nothing, Carly. I'm fine."

She didn't appear to believe him and Jason knew there would be at least two bags of new clothes waiting for him when she got back. Rider didn't really know what they were talking about, but made a note in his head to ask Michael later.

Rider had most of the history of their group, but still didn't have all of it. Michael knew a lot, more than the adults wanted him to, and more than they knew he did. He accepted all of it, and didn't comment. He knew their past, everything from why his mother had come to town to what she and his uncle had done when she got there. He knew about Jason's accident and Sonny's first wife. In some ways, he was a lot like his beloved uncle. There was nothing Michael could do to change the past, so he just dealt with it. Accepting each of his family members, faults and all. But most importantly, he knew what went on downstairs when he was sent upstairs, even if they didn't think he did. Michael knew what was going on, and in turn told Rider. They had both spent many hours trying to figure out the adult's latest moves. Most of which, didn't seem to make sense. Adults were kind of strange sometimes.

"Rider?" Jason asked as he poked Rider. Both boys turned to look at the other end of the table.

They both grinned sheepishly, "Sorry, Daddy, wasn't payin' attention." Rider explained quietly.

"I'd gotten that." Jason told him dryly. "I was asking if you two wanted to come hang out at my penthouse for a while." He asked them. Hidden meaning understood by the two boys, while not even registering on Sonny and Carly's radar.

Everyone was done with their breakfast and were going to be breaking apart to go on with their plans. And before Rider and Michael did just that, Jason wanted to hear it. Whatever they had planned, Jason had to check first. It was usually something they shouldn't do. They were tricksters.

"Yeah, just let me get dressed!" Michael cried as he jumped up from his chair and ran up the stairs.

Sonny stood up with the plates, "Don't run up the stairs." But Michael was already up all the way up. Carly grabbed some plates too and helped her husband clear the table. Jason too got up and picked Rider up.

"So, what do you two have planned for today?" he asked as he carried his son into the hallway. Johnny and Francis heard what he said and groaned.

"Aw man, Franny, did you hear that? The Destructive Duo are at it again." Johnny complained. All of the guards had dubbed the two kids the Destructive Duo. It fit them perfectly. Rider and Michael didn't exactly mind the nickname either.

Francis nodded sadly, "Give us some warning if it's gonna make Sonny yell, okay?" he asked Rider.

"Of course, if we have time…." Rider half-promised.

Jason shook his head. It was going to be an interesting day. He was right, it would be. Just not the way they thought it would be.

_10 pages! 4,296 words! Pretty good, hu? **REVIEW!**_


	17. The Bridge

**Coming Home: **The Bridge

* * *

_Hey everyone. Thanks for all of the reviews. Here's your new chapter. I think you'll like it….Sorry for the wait!_

_By the way, this the same day as the last one, but at night._

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - The Docks

Jason paced back and forth. He'd long since ditched Francis. The moment he'd done it he could remember all the times he'd fought with Carly because she too would ditch her guards. But suddenly he understood why. There were just sometimes that having someone know where you were was an unwanted event.

His anger was overwhelming him. How could Sonny do that? The conversation he'd overheard rang in his mind.

**FLASHBACK **

_"Look Johnny, I took care of it." Sonny said calmly._

_Jason leaned closer to the doorway. He had been at the penthouse when some coffee warehouse documents had come to Sonny. Since he was already on his way to his own warehouse, he had planned on bringing it to Sonny himself on the way._

_"And if Jason finds out?" Johnny asked, "Or the Five Families start up the threats again?"_

_"Jason won't find out because we aren't going to tell him. And the Families got the message this time. Especially since I had Taggliotti killed as an example."_

_"I'm not saying that you didn't handle the Families well, cause you did. And I'm not feeling and remorse for Sammy. But you have to tell him!"_

_His eyes had closed on their own accord. Sonny went back without him. His anger started to fume._

_"He'll be mad. Jason will say that I should have taken him with me."_

_He nodded, that's exactly what he would have said. Sonny was right in that._

_"You're right, he will be. But he has the right to know."_

_"You aren't to tell him. And I'm not either. Jason won't have to know. I wouldn't have told Carly, and I'm not telling Jason."_

**END FLASHBACK **

Jason knew that he'd stepped aside in the mob. He would no longer be informed of all the things that went down. But when they concerned him he had kind of expected to be told.

His mind was reeling and he needed to stop thinking about it. Obsessing would do him no good. He needed to get away. Especially before his shadow remerged. His mind traveled to the only solution he knew of. His motorcycle.

A bike ride was exactly what he needed right then. Once his bike had entered his mind, his eyes strayed up to the window he knew to be her's. Would she even want to go on a ride with him? But rational thought was getting a beating from the rest of his mind.

Without thinking of the consequences, he made his way to the building.

To her.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -Elizabeth's Studio

Elizabeth sat on her lumpy flea-market couch and stared out into space. Normally she might have painted or listened to some music, but her thoughts were too complex to just ignore.

She thought over the current situation again, just like she did about a million times a day. The more she got to know Rider and the more she reconnected Jason, the harder it was for her to hide how she felt.

Why did Emily have to be so damn wise?

Her friend had called it a mile away, at the start of the whole thing. When was she going to start listening to Emily? Somehow, with the big stuff, Emily was usually right. Lots of time spent with Lila had come in handy.

There was a harsh knock at the door and Elizabeth rushed to answer it. For some reason she had no hesitation, considering the pounding that was occurring. She wrenched open the door and was confronted by an upset Jason.

He looked like he was far more than just having a bad day. Something was wrong and it was something big. "Are you alright?" She asked quickly. Her heart was aching from the look in his eyes, even though he had only been at her door for around thirty seconds. "Jason?"

"I'm going on a ride. Do you want to come?" Jason asked simply. His mask slid into place and Elizabeth could no longer read his eyes.

Without a word she grabbed her coat from the table and locked the door behind her. "Of course. Where are we going?"

"Nowhere, fast."

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - The Bridge – One Hour Later

Jason hadn't said one word since his last two in the hallway outside her studio. He hadn't lied though. They had gone fast. It was faster then they had ever been before. There was only one noticeable absence to the ride. When she had held on to him, she didn't feel him laugh. He always laughed at the wind. But not then.

"Jason, you didn't say anything the whole time we were walking up here. What's wrong?" Elizabeth asked him again. Jason ignored her at first. He walked up to the edge and sat down on the side. His feet dangled over and Jason stared out at the nothingness in front of them.

She was about to restate her question when he spoke. "I knew that I was out. That Sonny wasn't going to tell me anything anymore. But I didn't expect him to go back behind my back."

The confusion was evident on her face, but Jason didn't see. Not only was it dark, but she was also behind him. Elizabeth placed a reassuring hand on his shoulder, "Jason, you're not making any sense. What are you out of? And where did Sonny go behind your back?"

"It's a long story." Jason said with a sigh. A story that he found, despite the business aspects, he didn't mind sharing.

Elizabeth hopped up on the ledge next to him and sat cross-legged, so she was facing his side. "You can tell me anything."

Turning to look at her, Jason let his mask slide away. His eyes pierced hers and she didn't even have the power to look away. "I know." He whispered.

He turned away again and Elizabeth was still trying to recover. Jason's stare were so intense he'd left her breathless with just few minutes of eye contact. What was so wrong that he wasn't making sense? Jason was famous for talking in circles, with incomplete sentences to match. But this was something far worse then a threat to her. It was as though the things in his life had compiled and now he needed to get them all out. Before he burst.

"Jason, you can tell me. No matter how long the story." Elizabeth promised, determined to help. "The sooner you start, the sooner you can put Rider to bed." She added teasingly, hoping to break up the tense mood.

It didn't work.

"I'm out of the mob." Jason started. "That's what I meant before. The Five Families," he turned to see if she understood, which she did, " – aren't so happy with my reappearance. Sonny and I went, but they didn't get the message. He went back recently, without telling me." He turned to look at her to see the reaction on her face. There wasn't one. She just nodded. And Jason suddenly remembered she'd seen his motorcycle warehouse, and was best friends with Emily. She must have already been told he'd left or had guessed. "I can't be in something so dangerous anymore. Rider needs me."

Elizabeth nodded, understanding. "You want to be there to watch your son grow up." She stated.

Sighing, Jason nodded. "Yeah, there's that. I mean, I'd die for Rider in an instant. But he's already lost his mother, Elizabeth. He's gotten so protective of me since then." Jason explained.

"How so?" She asked quietly. She hadn't noticed anything with Rider. But her mind drifted back to their lunch together. When Jason was lost in his thoughts had she had tried to get his attention. With each passing second Rider had grown both more worried and more horror-struck as Jason didn't answer.

"If we're around new people, who Rider deems possibly threatening to me, he comes right over. He thinks that if he's there then he can stop something bad from happening to me. That's what he did when I introduced him to Johnny and Francis on the plane." Jason told her, remembering his son's reaction to the two guards. While both men were big and tough on the outside, they were big softies on the inside. It hadn't taken Rider long to see that.

She nodded, that made sense. Rider had lost his mother. It wasn't surprising that he was protective of the only person he had left. Jason spoke again and her attention drifted back to him. "I just hope he gets over that. If he happens to come over when it really is someone threatening, I won't be able to forgive myself."

"Have you told Rider that?" She asked curiously. Rider seemed to be a very mature child. They could probably have conversations far beyond Barney and Elmo.

Voice softening, which wasn't lost on Elizabeth, Jason responded. "Yeah. I try to tell him. And he'll nod, like he understands and he won't do that anymore. I'll tell him that I'm not going anywhere. And if I don't answer him right away, its not because something's wrong, its just that I'm not paying attention." He closed his eyes and looked up. "But at the end of the day it doesn't matter what I say. He'll always try to keep me safe. Because he's already lost his mother, so his greatest fear is to lose me."

"That's reasonable." Elizabeth commented. She plunged forward without thinking of the consequences. "Was he as close to Isabella as he is to you?"

Jason turned to look at her. "You've been talking to Emily." He said with a ghost of a smile.

Shocked that he knew from her simple sentence, Elizabeth had to know, "How did you know I'd talked to Emily?"

"I never told you her name." Jason easily returned. Their banter was loosening him up. She was so easy to talk to that he didn't worry about how she would take what he said. But there was still so much more that was going on. But he had the feeling that it would all come out on the bridge pretty soon.

Blushing so brightly it was even showing in the darkness, Elizabeth sheepishly answered. "Okay, yes. I asked Emily how…um." She cut off, suddenly aware of where her tongue was taking the conversation.

"You asked her how Isabella died." Jason concluded. His voice didn't change and he didn't seem to mind that she'd brought it up.

Nodding, Elizabeth finished her own sentence. "I asked her how she died. But I wanted to know the, well, I wanted to know the whole thing." She finished quietly. "Are you mad?"

Expelling a deep breath from his lungs, Jason looked back out at the sky. "No. I'm not. I suppose you have a right to know." He mused aloud. "She told you all of it?"

"Pretty much. She said that you two weren't, you know, in love." She said as she pushed some of her chestnut hair from her face. "Is that true?"

If Jason was angry with her forwardness then he didn't let on. It seemed like this was an all out open talk session. What was said here wouldn't leave and they could bear their souls. But Elizabeth still wondered how far they would go with that.

"Yes, it is." He admitted. "I mean, I did love her. But it's the same way I love Carly. And she loved me back, in that exact sense." Jason explained. He hesitated for only a second before admitting the next shocking fact. "I told her about you."

Fear gripped at her for a second. Would Isabella, whom Emily had described as a kind person who had a dreaming sort of mind, keep them apart from her grave? "You, you told her about me?"

"She said I was being stupid."

Fear was abruptly changed to confusion. "What are you talking about? Why did she think you were being stupid?"

Jason laughed for the first time during their time on the bridge. It was a real laugh, as though it were something funny. "She said that if I cared that much about you then I shouldn't have left. No matter how much I was heartbroken." Elizabeth winced at his words, but he kept going. "She even offered to let me divorce her and go to you. She was ready to move herself and Rider out here, if that was what I wanted."

"And you didn't come." Elizabeth guessed. Isabella was truly a better person than Elizabeth would have been. It was a shame that she'd never met the woman.

"And I didn't come." He agreed. "I didn't want to risk it. I liked the life we had." Which was true. The laid-back style of the island was something that he could appreciate. The people there minded their own business, but if they were called upon for help, they'd have been there in a second. He enjoyed the beach. And Isabella and he had a good friendship going on.

Elizabeth could understand his fear. It was the same one she'd had the day he had asked her to go away with him. Life with Lucky – at that point – had been nice. Jason had the potential for being even better, but on the off chance he wouldn't be, it had scared her to leave all she knew for that risk.

Was she still too afraid to walk away? She had let him get away those years ago in the park. All because of fear. She'd lost out on what could have been her soul mate. There wasn't going to be another chance after tonight. She had to come clean.

"I love you."

Elizabeth held her breath as the silence overwhelmed the bridge. She didn't say anything, not rushing him. He would say something in his own time.

His face betrayed nothing, but inside he was a whole new mesh of emotions. His anger of before was instantly evaporated.

She loved him back.

Elizabeth loved him back.

And in that moment, he wanted nothing more than to return her words. Which he did. "I love you too. For so long. But Elizabeth, it doesn't matter."

* * *

_Hehe, there's your cliffhanger. Did I not say that this chapter was key to plot? I didn't?Oh, well, it is!Please let me know what you all think. And don't just think that now that everything is in the open that this story is done. On the contrary, we aren't even halfway done yet!_

**Please, review!**


	18. What Matters Most

**Coming Home: **What Matters More

_

* * *

Hello everyone. Thanks for all of the reviews last chapter. I'm glad to see that you don't hate me **too **much for my cliffhanger. Hopefully all will be forgiven…maybe._

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - The Bridge

And in that moment, he wanted nothing more than to return her words. Which he did. "I love you too. For so long. But Elizabeth, it doesn't matter."

Elizabeth felt like she'd just been slapped. In the same moment he'd managed to make her feel so incredibly happy and in the next he'd broken her heart in a million pieces. She couldn't even make her mouth work. Her voice was gone.

He looked at her obviously devastated expression and rushed to continue. "Elizabeth. I do love you. But I love Rider more. I always will. Can you handle that?"

Nodding, Elizabeth knew that already. "Jason, I know that. I know I'll always be second to Rider. That's okay with me, I wouldn't expect anything otherwise." She took a deep breath. "There's more isn't there?"

"If Rider doesn't want us together, I won't be with you." Jason gently informed her. He meant every word. His son was his number one priority. He'd give life, limb and love for his son. Anything Rider needed or wanted that Jason could give him, his son would get.

Letting out a deep breath, she closed her eyes and leveled out her heartbeat. There was still a chance. If Rider was all right with them then it could still be okay. "That's fine, Jason. I understand. When are you going to … talk to him?"

It was Jason's turn to take deep calming breaths. "He's still up. I'd rather sooner than later. He always has a way of knowing what I'm feeling. He'll be able to tell if I put it off."

Looking down at her watch, Elizabeth incredulously looked back up at him. "At nine at night?"

"Bed times are much later on the island." Jason said with a grin. His whole body was singing with happiness. Elizabeth loved him. There were few feelings in the world that rivaled the one he was having. All because of her. Three simple words from her mouth.

Smiling, Elizabeth nodded. "Go."

"I'm not just leaving you here!" He stated indigently. It was late and dark. He didn't like the idea of leaving her there while he was gone. The rational side of his brain was being drowned out. The rest of him ignored the fact that almost no one knew about the bridge. She would be safe there.

Rolling her eyes, Elizabeth decided to agree with his rational side. "Jason, no one comes here! I'm fine. It's safe. Just as long as you don't forget me here and just go to bed after you talk to Rider." She teased.

Shooting her a look, Jason groaned. "Alright. But I'm leaving you my cell phone." Jason said in a no nonsense voice. He fished the object in question out of his pocket and handed it over to Elizabeth. She accepted it without word, knowing that unless she took it he wouldn't leave her there. Besides, it didn't hurt anything. Just as long as anyone didn't call.

Jason gave her a long hard look. He wanted to kiss her, but that would only make things harder in the long run if Rider didn't want his father with someone so soon after his mother's death. They both just stared at each other for a long while before Jason reached up and touched her cheek.

Without a word he turned and left.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Morgan Penthouse – 15 Minutes Later

Jason opened the door to the penthouse and took a deep breath. Just as he'd told Elizabeth, Rider was still awake. His son was sitting on the couch and reading a book. "Ri?"

A blonde head popped up from behind the book on Africa and smiled. "Daddy! You're back!" he screeched and running up to Jason quickly. He stopped halfway between the couch and his father, with a narrowed eyed expression on his face. "Um, Daddy, have you talked to Uncle Sonny?"

Returning the look, Jason kneeled down to Rider, "No. Should I?"

Rider quickly shook his head. "Not 'till tomorrow. Let 'im – uhh – cool down." With that advice out in the open, Rider ran up to Jason, happily throwing his arms around Jason's neck. Rider was acting as though Jason had been gone for years, not half the day. Which, for the father and son, was a really long time to be away from each other. Many people were very curious to see what would happen the next year when Rider had to go to school.

Sighing, Jason broke away from his son and led him to the couch. "Ri, we need to talk." He stated cryptically. He immediately wished he had worded it differently when Rider grew wide-eyed.

"What? Are you okay? Daddy?" Rider quickly spewed out. He ambled up onto the couch and sat next to his father, holding his hand. There was something going on, something that his father was worried about. He could feel it. "What?!"

Picking Rider up, Jason set him down onto his lap. Rider snuggled against his father's chest. "Daddy?"

"I want to talk to you about Elizabeth." Jason asked as he started stroking his son's hair. He wasn't quite sure how to go about the conversation. But talking to his son had always been easy, now would be no exception.

Looking up from Jason's chest, Rider looked confused. "What about Lizzie?"

"Do you like her?" He asked slowly. He wanted his son's whole opinion. "Tell me what you think, don't change how you say it just to spare me, okay?"

Sitting straighter, Rider nodded and looked his father dead in the eyes. Their identical blue eyes were also matching in intensity. It didn't matter that Rider was only a little boy, right then they were equals, the way that Jason had always treated them. "I like her, you know that Daddy. She's nice, an' funny too."

Jason took in his son's words. He liked her. But that wasn't what he needed to know. And there was no way that Rider would be able to give him the information he needed unless Jason just outright said it. "Ri, you know that your mother and I weren't in love, right?"

"I know. You guys told me. You loved each other, but not like the other mommies and daddies." Rider stated very seriously. He had known that for at least a year, and he accepted that fact. As long as his parents were happy and they were all together, it was okay.

"Yes, I loved your mom very much. She was my best friend." Jason assured him. His face got a far away look on it. "She loved you so much Rider. You were everything she ever wanted. I still remember the look on her face when they handed you to her in the hospital. She started crying so hard."

Stricken look on his face, Rider's voice grew alarmed. "I made her cry!?"

Letting out a much-needed chuckle, Jason quickly moved to explain women to his son. Not an easy task. "Women cry when they're really happy Ri. Even guys do it. But right then, you made her so happy that she couldn't stop herself from crying."

"Oh." Rider simply stated. He looked like something else was bugging him. "Did I….did I make you cry?"

Jason took his son's face into his hands. "Yes. You did. I was so scared Rider. You were so beautiful and so perfect, I was so afraid I'd hurt you." Jason sighed, "I'm not a good person, Rider. I've done a lot of bad things. Things I'm not even going to tell you about until you're older. But there you were. I was holding you in my arms and you were just looking at me. And I knew then that I had to have done something good for someone."

He leaned forward to kiss Rider's forehead. "You were and are so perfect and wonderful. I knew then that I had to protect you. My job in life was to protect you and do everything in my power to make you happy and healthy."

"You do make me happy, Daddy." Rider promised Jason. He leaned forward and returned Jason's kiss, right onto his father's forehead.

Smiling, Jason laughed at his son's actions. "What did I do to get so lucky?" he mused aloud. Rider grinned.

"I don't know. It musta been REALLY good though." The little boy stated as he stressed the "really" of the sentence. Jason laughed and Rider felt a stab of pride. He knew that his father was very different with other people then how he was with his son. Jason wouldn't smile half as much and he didn't laugh. That was something he and he alone could get his father to do. And Rider took great pride in the fact that he made his father that happy.

Rider wasn't unaware of things. He knew that his father had done bad things in the past. He could tell that Jason Morgan was someone that people feared. He had caught on quickly when they got to Port Charles. There were lots of people who stayed far from his father. He'd seen the way Jason's face got sometimes.

"Rider, I want to say something before I ask you a question. Okay?" Jason asked and once Rider nodded, he continued. "I love you more than anything. More than any other person alive. And there's nothing you can do to change that. Nothing. You could do horrible things, I may not approve of them, but my love for you wouldn't lessen or change."

Taking a deep breath, Jason continued. "No one will take your place in my life. No person or thing can do that. And no will take your mother's place."

Then was not the time to interrupt, and Rider knew that. He kept his mouth shut and kept listened to what his father had to say.

"Your mom, Rider, she loved you. And she loved me. But on top of that, she loved being a wife and a mother. She liked to take care of us, and she did her job well." He paused, mind caught up in memories that were being stirred almost painfully to the surface.

Images of the day that Rider was born were swirling around. The fear and happiness that had raced through him. Isabella had held him first. She had stared at Rider and then she had looked back up at Jason. Her tired, but happy voice still rang in his mind.

_"Jason, look at him! He's our son. He's the best thing we ever did Jason."_

Various pictures split through his mind in seconds, of himself and Rider or of Rider or his mother.

"I'm going to ask you something, and if you don't want me to Rider, I won't. I swear to you. If you don't like the idea, I'll end everything. Even if you do say yes right now, you can always change your mind. Always. Okay?" Jason told Rider seriously.

"I understand, Daddy. Ask me, what is it?" Rider reassured Jason. His father didn't exactly forget his mom, but they didn't talk about her a lot. At first it just made them both sad. But after a while, the hurt got less, but they still didn't talk about her. Whatever the reason for the conversation they had just had, Rider was eager to find out.

Jason closed his eyes and took a deep breath. "Rider, I'm in love with Elizabeth. And she loves me."

Rider leaned against his father's chest again and hid his head. That wasn't exactly what he had been expecting. Jason seemed to know that Rider needed to think things over, so he didn't say anything.

He did like Lizzie. He and Michael had talked about it. They both were considering plotting to bring the two together. But now that it was being offered to him, without plotting, Rider didn't know what to say.

His father's happiness meant a lot to him. That's all he wanted for Jason. And it wasn't as if Elizabeth would try to replace his mom. But it was still something so incredibly different, he didn't even know if he could handle it. What if she turned out to be awful? What if she made Daddy hurt?

His mother had always told him that fear of what could happen shouldn't stop you from trying. She told him that if you spent your whole life staying in the safe happy life you had, then it was still a good life. But if there was a different option, one that could make things even better, then you should go for it. Because you'd wonder for the rest of your life.

If he said no, would his father wonder? Would he get hurt anyway? He didn't want his Dad to hurt in anyway. But at the same time, Rider knew that Elizabeth wouldn't hurt him. If she could stop that from happening, she would.

Was he brave enough to risk their happy world? To risk losing it just being the two of them, to let Lizzie in?

"Does she make you happy?" Rider asked, slightly muffled by Jason's strong chest. He gripped his father's shirt in his hands.

Whispering back for an unknown reason, Jason responded. "Yes, she really does."

"Do you want to be with her?"

"Yes."

A long pause fell over them. Jason had answered his son as honestly as he could. Lying or trying to downplay the feelings he was having would only make a harsh slap in the face for his son eventually. Jason wanted his son to deal with Elizabeth's presence as easily as possible.

"Then be with her." Rider confidently spoke as he raised his head to look at Jason. He was brave, he wouldn't be afraid of something that could be really good. And if did turn bad, then he and his father would deal with it together.

Smiling, Jason proudly looked at his son. His baby. "Are you sure?"

"Yes. Go! Tell her." Rider encouraged. Jason first leaned forward and hugged Rider tightly.

"I love you so much, Rider."

"I love you too, Daddy."

* * *

_Now, was that mushy or what? I hope I didn't overdo anything. Please, tell me what you think okay?_


	19. Finally Love

**Coming Home: **Finally Love

_

* * *

Hey everyone. I'm glad you liked the chapter!_**_For Sam_**

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - The Bridge - Meanwhile

Elizabeth sat back onto the ledge of the bridge. She listened as Jason's motorcycle roared away. Putting the cell phone on to the ledge along side her, she took a deep breath.

Deciding to stay at the bridge was a good choice, she needed the time to think. But at that moment, she could have used Emily's advice. A smile played across her lips as she anticipated her friend's reactions. Somewhere between intense joy and mental lists of things needed for a wedding.

Sobering up quickly, Elizabeth reminded herself that it was not cut and dry. Saying, "I love you." And then having it returned was probably the easy part now that she thought it over. Those were words, they felt more right than anything else in her life. Saying them to him was the most freeing thing that she could have done.

And to have him return her feelings was more the she could have dreamed of. To see it in his eyes and hear it come from his lips was just as freeing as saying it herself.

But true to his personality, Jason Morgan shocked her again. For the shortest of instants, she'd forgotten everyone else in the world. Then he crashed the reality of their situation down around her. This wasn't like those days when he helped her get over Lucky and she helped him get over his gunshot wound.

That time was simple. It was the two of them, and who cared about the rest of the their family and friends? They didn't. They knew what was going on between them and that was all that mattered.

Even after that time it had still been easier. But then Lucky had returned. The fact alone had elated Elizabeth. Jason hadn't been there, she was free to do what she wanted.

Though, it quickly became apparent that she wasn't free.

Lucky had been different. More so then they all had originally figured. Elizabeth shook her head, going over old memories wasn't going to do her any good. But it was true, nonetheless. In those days, if she and Jason had decided to be together, the rest of the town would have had to deal. Carly would have been upset, Sonny would have supported it, Emily would have been ecstatic, Lucky and Nikolas wouldn't have liked it, Gram would have been disapproving, and who knows how the Quartermaines – save Lila – would have felt. But it wouldn't be affecting anyone too drastically.

But now Jason had a bigger responsibility. Bigger than being a boyfriend or enforcer. He was a _father _– and that was far more important than his other responsibilities.

Rider was the light in his father's eyes and it was obvious to anyone who saw them together or heard Jason speak of the blonde haired blue-eyed child. Jason's voice changed when his son became the topic of conversation. Depending on what you were discussing regarding Rider, it changed. Intense worry, pride, a laughing teasing voice, fear. Anything. But there was always one underlying emotion.

Love.

A smile lit her face as Elizabeth thought over how Jason acted with the little boy. A much softer version of Jason came out. A happier version.

What would the little boy say about she and Jason? Was her original thought that it was too soon for another woman in their life correct? Would Rider be thinking the same thing?

The "what if"s raced in her head. All of which ended in Jason returning saying they couldn't be together.

She didn't allow herself that one what if that she desperately wanted. What if Rider was fine with their love? The phrase "their love" rang in her head as a blush developed over her face. She was thinking too much.

Checking the time on Jason's cell, Elizabeth realized how long she'd been lost in thought. Jason could be back any minute now. Her future had probably already been decided.

Her breathing started to seize as she fell into the grips of fear. She closed her eyes and tried to get a grip on her emotions. But the overwhelming fear of losing Jason completely had taken roots in her. That fear, the fear of losing him, was the one that had kept her from going away with him all those years ago.

It would all work out, eventually, it would all work out. She forced herself to take a few deep breaths. Her vow that it would all work out might not be real, but until Jason came back – it was all she had.

Her ears opened perked up as he heard the distant roar of his motorcycle. She closed her eyes and took a minute to calm herself. If Jason had to leave, then spending time being comforted by him wouldn't help. She sent a silent prayer to Rider.

"Please don't let me lose him."

The motorcycle stopped and she could hear his footsteps. The heavy motorcycle boots gave him away. She knew that when he wanted to, when he needed to, he could be so silent that you wouldn't know his presence until he wanted you to.

"Elizabeth?" he quietly asked. She turned around and hopped down from the ledge where she'd been sitting. He didn't' say anything else and she couldn't even look at him.

Which he picked up on. "Look at me." She kept her head down despite his wishes. "Please?"

"What did… um, what did Rider say?" She asked, hoping to keep the emotion out of her voice and her tone light. Which was anything but how she was feeling.

"Look at me." Jason ordered gently. She could tell that he was gearing himself up for a big speech, which was odd for him.

This time, however, she complied with his request. She took a deep breath and brought her face up. It only took one look at his eyes to see the answer in them.

A smile lit her face up and she jumped up before he had the chance to say anything. Wrapping her arms around his neck, she squealed as he spun her around. All her fears let go of her and she felt free – truly free – for the first time since those days in her studio.

He gently set her back down. He too was smiling and Elizabeth's grin only grew larger as his strong hands framed her face. "Let's do this right." He took a deep breath. "I love you, Elizabeth."

Taking the initiative, Elizabeth leaned forward and gave him a long, soulful kiss. She poured all of her emotion into it. She had to pull back first, oxygen becoming an issue.

"I love you too, Jason Morgan."

* * *

_So, they're together now! Aren't you all pleased? Please, tell me what you think. I gotta tell you guys, I'm running out of pre-written chapters! I don't know what I'm going to do!_

**_Review!_**


	20. All To Feel

**Coming Home: **All To Feel

_

* * *

Hey guys. Thanks for all of the reviews for the last chapter! I'm glad you liked it, considering its what you've all been waiting for. There's no actual liason in this chapter, but there's a big glimpse into Jason's feelings (not just on Liz, on a lot of stuff). So I hope that makes up for it._

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -Morgan Penthouse

"Jason Morgan!" Carly screeched as she banged open the door to the penthouse. She'd been casually listening – okay eavesdropping – to Rider and Michael's conversation when she'd heard it. Jason and Muffin were together again. There was no way that she was going to let Jason get hurt again.

Not if she could help it.

And she couldn't have helped the hurt he'd had when Isabella died, but she could sure as hell keep him from the hurt that little Lizzie Webber would cause when she ran scared again.

"Jason! Get down here!" she yelled when he didn't immediately come down. She could hear the groan from upstairs and tapped her foot impatiently. "Jase!"

The target of her rant ambled down the stairs, looking as though he was facing impending doom. "What is it Carly?"

"So I was listening to Rider and Michael-" Carly started. Off of Jason's look she changed her words. "Okay, fine, I was listening in on their conversation. But I only did it because I like some warning before they break loose. I mean, Francis and Johnny were nearly in tears when Rider threw that fake temper tantrum to flip them out."

Waving his hand around in an impatient gesture, Jason prompted. "Carly, the point?" Which was an empty question considering he knew exactly why she was there. In fact, he was going to have to teach Michael and Rider how to sense people around them. Because the last thing he wanted was for them to reveal information that he didn't want known to Carly again. Though, now that he thought about it, they may have very well done it on purpose.

"Are you crazy?" Carly asked. "Don't you remember all the crap Elizabeth put you through?" she demanded.

Sensing that this was going to be a long conversation, Jason marched over to his couch and plopped down. "Carly, I know what I'm doing."

Joining him on the couch, Carly too sat down. "Jase, I know you know what you're doing. But think about this. What has changed since the last time she put you through this?"

"I know you're trying to protect me Carly. And I appreciate it. But you need to back down on this." He advised her with a sigh. He knew that she was trying to help, but her constant nagging about Elizabeth was far more than he wanted to deal with each day.

"I don't want you to get hurt." Carly seriously told him. In the end, if she could have a guarantee that Elizabeth wouldn't hurt Jason, then she'd put forth her best effort to let them be and bury the hatchet. But Elizabeth's record was against her on this.

She had hurt Jason – both knowingly and unintentionally – too many times before for Carly to just lie down and allow it again. He'd been through too much.

"I won't."

"You don't know that."

Nodding his head forward just once in the motion that was so uniquely Jason, he responded. "I don't know. But Carly, I've already dealt with everything that is possibly imaginable. I can handle a lot more now."

"Like Isabella's death." She whispered. She remembered that phone call. Jason sounded half-dead. It was right before he'd told Rider the truth. She could still hear his voice.

"Carly, how do I do it? Rider loves – loved her so much. I can't tell him she's gone. Oh man. How do I tell my son that his mother's dead?"

Agreeing, "Like Isabella's death." Sobering up quickly, "Carly, you can't protect me from everything."

"I can try." She weakly smiled. Jason returned her smile half-heartedly. "I just don't want to see you get hurt again."

"I could get hurt. But that's what happens when you love someone. I could get hurt. I could hurt Elizabeth." Jason pointed out. Carly was too proud to admit to his point.

But she did hear the love comment. "You love her?" Carly asked, slightly depressed. There was little she could do with love. He had a point - love could hurt. But if could make you happy at the same time. It was all a gamble.

Smiling, "I do." Jason responded easily. He could tell that he'd knocked her down a few notches. Which didn't necessarily mean anything. Carly had recharging quality that made her all the worse to be in a fight with.

"Don't say that yet!" Carly weakly bossed. Jason looked happy. She couldn't dispute that.

Running a hand down his face, Jason shifted in his seat so they were facing each other perfectly. "Carly, I promise to be careful. And I know Elizabeth isn't going to try to hurt me. But you need to stop this."

"I won't stop trying to make sure you're okay!" She protested.

"I'm not asking you to." Jason reassured her. "I'm asking you to give Elizabeth a chance." He asked, knowing that it was near impossible to do. But Carly was a person who could do the impossible. Especially if someone she loved asked her to.

Groaning, Carly feigned pain – which is exactly what the mere thought of befriending or even being nice to Elizabeth caused her, "That's impossible Jason!" she exclaimed.

Jason felt a smile tug his lips. He couldn't help but laugh at her reaction. "You're impossible Carly."

"I am not, that's not tr…. Okay, maybe it is." Carly conceded with a laugh. There really was no way she could have gotten through that. And even if she had, this was Jason. He knew when she was lying. "I missed you Jason. Laughing like this. I missed this." She admitted quietly.

In an un-characteristic move, Jason leaned forward and pulled Carly into a hug. "I missed you too. We won't stop being friends just because I'm with Elizabeth. You know that."

The way that Jason could read her mind was almost scary sometimes. "I know." She answered. "But I did miss you."

They pulled away and Carly sighed. "I won't stop trying to protect you. And if she does hurt you…well, I'll hurt her. But I won't…" Carly trailed off, the words to horrific to say.

Laughing at his win, Jason couldn't believe the turn of events. What he wouldn't give to have a video camera right then and there. "Are you going to promise me that you won't go after Elizabeth?"

"I promise." She begrudgingly swore to him. She swatted him on the head when he kept laughing, despite how happy she was to be seeing him laugh.

"Thank you, Carly."

"I won't promise to stop calling her Muffin though."

"I wouldn't dream of making you do a thing like that."

_

* * *

I thought that the last part needed to be just a banter type thing. I hope you all agree. And I hope you agree with the way I've handled the Carly-hates-Elizabeth aspect._

_**Review, please!**_


	21. Mental Plans of a Wedding

**Coming Home: **Mental Plans of a Wedding

* * *

_Hey everyone. Thanks for all of the reviews and feedback for the last chapter. I'm sure you can guess the topic of this chapter based on the chapter title. Emily makes her return. Hehe._

--------------------------------------The Docks

Emily paced back and forth across the docks. Impatience radiated off of her and she was willing to let anyone know. It wasn't everyday your best friend called up so excited, insisting upon a meeting in the middle of the morning.

"Come on, Elizabeth, where are you?" Emily muttered to herself. How long did it take to get to the docks from wherever it had been that Elizabeth called?

"Behind you."

Quickly turning, it appeared that Elizabeth had decided to answer the question. "Where have you been?" Emily squealed. But once Elizabeth started to open her mouth, she cut her off. "Wait, better question, why did you call?"

"You might want to sit down for this." Elizabeth playfully suggested. Where Emily had radiated impatience, Elizabeth was radiating happiness. She looked better than she had in months, years even. There had to be something to cause this much of a change in Elizabeth. And Emily was bound and determined to find out what.

Hands on hips, Emily didn't even grace the stalling with a comment. Elizabeth giggled and relented. "All right, jeez Em, always so impatient!" she admonished gently. "Jason and I are together." She stated without much ado at all.

Emily's jaw dropped and her eyes widened to the size of dinner plates. She seemed unable to form coherent words. Elizabeth took the opportunity to steer her to the bench so they could talk without being in the middle of everyone's way.

"You're…with…my…brother!?" Emily exclaimed, stressing each and every word. She looked like her birthday had come early. After all, Jason and Elizabeth might have been dancing around each other for years, but Emily had been forced to wait just as long for the impending hook up. Something that appeared to have already happened.

Groaning, Elizabeth moaned, "I thought you'd promised not to do that!"

Rolling her eyes, Emily didn't seem impressed. "He's my brother. You've hooked up with my big brother, whom I adore. Now, will you spill? I mean, last week you were insisting that Jase – my big brother – never find out that you have feelings for him. Now you're with him?"

"Yep."

"Yep?"

"Yep."

"THAT'S IT?"

Unable to hold it in any longer, Elizabeth doubled over and started to crack up. "Oh, Emily…" she started, but wasn't able to continue speech. Emily just looked on in a annoyed and, though she'd never admit it, gleeful way. Elizabeth seemed happy, happier than she'd been in forever. It was like a light had turned on inside of her best friend.

Once her laughter had subsided, Elizabeth straightened out and took a few calming breaths. "I'm sorry, I couldn't help but tease you a little. It was Jason's idea. Kind of like, serve you right for being so involved in his love life type thing."

Eyes narrowed, Emily looked less than pleased with her brother. "I'll get him back later." She promised ominously. "So, tell me what happened with him?"

Gearing up for a long – long – story, Elizabeth started with another big breath. "Well, I was up at my studio when he knocked. He looked…I don't know, lost or something. Really angry too. He said something about a bike ride, and I went with him. He looked like he needed someone, and I wanted to help."

"Understandable." Emily smiled. Jason and Elizabeth were still devoted to each other, even if they denied feelings for years.

Returning the smile, Elizabeth nodded. "So, we went on the bike ride. He wasn't laughing like he normally did, he just drove fast. We went to the bridge."

"Ahh, the infamous bridge." Emily sighed. "You're taking me there sometime."

"Fine, if Jason says its okay. Its kind of sacred." She promised. Though, she doubted Jason would care, Elizabeth just wasn't sure if she wanted anyone else to know of their bridge. "Anyway, we went to the bridge. We talked for a while, I mean, really talked."

**FLASHBACK **

"_I'm out of the mob." Jason started. "That's what I meant before. The Five Families," he turned to see if she understood, which she did, " – aren't so happy with my reappearance. Sonny and I went, but they didn't get the message. He went back recently, without telling me." He turned to look at her to see the reaction on her face. There wasn't one. She just nodded. And Jason suddenly remembered she'd seen his motorcycle warehouse, and was best friends with Emily. She must have already been told he'd left or had guessed. "I can't be in something so dangerous anymore. Rider needs me." _

_Elizabeth nodded, understanding. "You want to be there to watch your son grow up." She stated. _

_Sighing, Jason nodded. "Yeah, there's that. I mean, I'd die for Rider in an instant. But he's already lost his mother, Elizabeth. He's gotten so protective of me since then." Jason explained._

**END FLASHBACK **

"He told me that he was out of the mob, which I already knew. But he gave his reasons…or reason, meaning Rider." Elizabeth explained. "Which is what kind of turned our conversation to him."

Nodding, Emily added, "Rider is the most important thing to Jason. He'd give up anything for his son."

"I know." She said with a smile. "He told me about how Rider acts with Jason, now that his mother died."

"Rider's become protective." Emily added in. "Just like his Daddy." It was something that Emily and Jason had noticed right away after Isabella's death. At first, Rider didn't let his father out of his sight. He slept in bed with Jason, ate with him, stayed at the bike shop with him. As time went by he allowed his father to slowly leave his sight for small amounts of time. Jason had never been away from Rider for long, since the day he was born, but this only strengthened their bond.

Elizabeth sighed again. "Jason doesn't like that he's so protective. It scares him. He thinks one day, there really will be a threat, and Rider will jump right in and try to protect him."

**FLASHBACK **

_Voice softening, which wasn't lost on Elizabeth, Jason responded. "Yeah. I try to tell him. And he'll nod, like he understands and he won't do that anymore. I'll tell him that I'm not going anywhere. And if I don't answer him right away, its not because something's wrong, its just that I'm not paying attention." He closed his eyes and looked up. "But at the end of the day it doesn't matter what I say. He'll always try to keep me safe. Because he's already lost his mother, so his greatest fear is to lose me."_

**END FLASHBACK **

"Just one more reason for him to be out of the mob, less chance for that to happen." Emily confirmed. Elizabeth hadn't even thought of that, but she was sure that Jason had. He'd thought his choices through all the way, especially when they concerned Rider.

Smiling again, Elizabeth sent a grin Emily's way. "He knew that you'd told me about Isabella."

"How!?"

"He never told me her name, but I asked him a question about her." Elizabeth explained. "It was my fault."

With a small noise that told Elizabeth that, in fact, it was her fault, Emily chose not to say anything. Like Rider and Michael's difference in corruption, Emily had grown up a Quartermaine for a decade. Meaning her secret keeping skills were in their prime. Elizabeth might not have as much practice.

"Okay, continue!" Emily rushed.

Laughing yet again at her best friend's impatience, Elizabeth did as instructed. "We were talking for a while after that. Jason had said that Isabella offered him an out a while ago, so he could go be with me if he had wanted. But he said that he'd been too scared."

Lost up in the conversation from last night, Elizabeth barreled on. "I knew that it was my chance Em. We were spilling souls and I knew I had to tell him. So, I did. And he didn't say anything for a while. I knew he needed a couple minutes. Absorbing time at least." A faint smile graced her lips. "And then he said it back."

Arms were thrown around her as Emily squealed. "I can't believe it! That's so perfect a way to declare love for someone! So romantic." She gushed.

"Actually, his next words kind of killed the mood." Elizabeth informed her as she pried Emily's arms open a little to allow her lungs the room they needed to draw air. She was all for a hug, but not if they included dizziness due to lack of oxygen reaching the brain.

Emily pulled herself back apprehensively "Next words?"

"It went something like, 'Elizabeth, I love you too. But that doesn't matter.' – or something along those lines." She explained.

**FLASHBACK **

_And in that moment, he wanted nothing more than to return her words. Which he did. "I love you too. For so long. But Elizabeth, it doesn't matter."_

**END FLASHBACK **

Her best friend's eyes widened for the second time. "WHAT!?" she screeched, "How could he say that?"

"He meant that if Rider didn't like it, then it didn't matter." Elizabeth explained, wishing he'd worded it that way, because at the time he'd broken her dreams in a million pieces in a few short seconds. "So he had to go off to the penthouse to ask his son."

Breathing slowly coming back in normal intervals, Emily had her hand to her chest in the effort of calming herself. Try as she might, this meant a lot to her. It was actually pretty amusing for Elizabeth to watch. "Okay, so he talked to Rider. Obviously my nephew is okay with this."

"He was, thank god. But Jason's also left him the open-ended clause, so if Rider decides that I make a terrible girlfriend then he can stop this all." Elizabeth said. That thought scared her to no end. She didn't want to crowd Rider, but at the same time she wanted him to know that just like Jason, he was a priority too. It wasn't a situation she had much of a background in, so she was hopelessly confused. "I don't want to mess up Rider's life, Em. But I have no clue what to do with an almost step-kid. I mean, before you say anything, we're far from that. But I'm still his Daddy's girlfriend."

Sympathetically, Emily grabbed Elizabeth's hand. "It'll be okay. Rider likes you Elizabeth. I'm sure he's kind of lost in this situation too. He doesn't know you that well, and you don't know him. But you'll figure it out together. You, Rider and Jason."

"That's some of the most reassuring words I've gotten so far." Elizabeth said with a smile. "Gram didn't have much wisdom for me." She added bitterly.

Sighing, Emily understood. "She doesn't like this."

"How'd you guess?" Elizabeth deadpanned. The memory of her Gram's reaction still fresh in her mind. "She was less than pleased when I said I was back with Jason. I told her that he was out of the mob, and she seemed ready to give him a chance. Well, more ready than she was before I'd mentioned his new work status."

Adding up the information, Emily reached the conclusion easily. "But she blew the roof over Rider?"

"Sky high." Elizabeth said sadly.

Emily gave her hand a squeeze. "Was it that he had other priorities now, or that she didn't think that you're ready to play that role?"

"A little of both I think. She said I'm too young, even though I've been through a bit more than your average girl in her twenties." Elizabeth said sarcastically, but not bitterly at all.

"She'll come around." Emily offered weakly. "Eventually. And if she doesn't, it's her loss. So, who can I tell about this?"

Thankful for the subject changed, Elizabeth laughed. "Who do you want to tell?" It wasn't exactly a secret, but she and Jason didn't want Edward barging up to the penthouse to offer congratulations.

"Grandmother of course! We've been waiting for this." Emily stated as though Elizabeth should have know.

"Of course you can tell Lila." Elizabeth told her as she smacked her arm lightly. "I thought you were going to announce it to the Qs or something." Then she appeared to be going over her own words. A contemplative look came over her face.

But Emily beat her to it. "No way, you and Jason can do that just fine on your own."

Rolling her eyes, Elizabeth giggled, "I'm sure they'll love that."

"You'd be surprised." Emily told her. "They'll be happy for you. I'm happy for you." She finished quietly. Before Elizabeth could say anything, Emily leaned over to give her a gentle hug. They held on to each other tightly before breaking apart.

"So, when's the wedding?"

And Elizabeth groaned. "Here we go again…"

_

* * *

I hope you all liked the chapter! I'm suddenly inspired (might have something to do with the reemergence of Sam), so I'm off to write some more._

_Review, Please!_

_**PREVIEW:** Rider and Michael are at it again. Monica makes a call to the Morgans, but Jason has a condition for her request. Liason returns._


	22. All Forms of Family

**Coming Home: **All Forms of Family

* * *

_Hey everyone! Thanks for all of the reviews for the last chapter. _

_Please excuse the insanity of the start of this chapter, I couldn't resist._

-------------------------------------Morgan Penthouse

"Please tell me you didn't!" Jason exclaimed as he nearly felt his knees buckle underneath him. Rider and Sonny stood in front of him with a devilish smile and stern yet amused smile respectively. Sonny looked as though he were trying very hard to keep himself from smiling - the disapproving look on his face kept threatening to dissolve.

Rider couldn't help but sneak a glance at Michael, who was sitting on the stairs, looking just as pleased with themselves. "We really did."

"You painted the toilet with permanent black ink?" Jason asked incredulously. Where was he when that had gone down?

"Uh, the toilet seat in Uncle Sonny and Aunt Carly's bathroom is black. So we just put the ink on it kinda lightly. We knew she was gonna come up to pee soon. And she just sat down before the ink gotta chance ta dry." Rider explained with no shame in his voice.

But that was all it took to send Michael into fresh convulsions of laughter. "Oh god, she didn't even notice at first. But she musta looked in the mirror somehow."

This time, Sonny's frown was real, "My hearing may never be the same."

"So that was what the scream was about, I was wondering what was wrong." Jason added in thoughtfully. But at the time he figured it was just the boys playing games. Which, it was. But this was a bit more…different…then what he'd imagined.

Both Rider and Michael winced. "She looked liked she was gonna kill us!" Rider yelled out.

"Well, that was a bit of a overreaction, she can just wash it off." Jason shrugged. He was still unclear as to whether he was supposed to yell at his son or congratulate him on a prank well pulled.

The little boys instantly shut up. And Sonny looked a little sheepish. "Uh, Jase? I said permanent ink."

Jason's eyes widened with realization. His voice grew faint in shock. "You mean she'll have a toilet seat imprint on her butt for the next week?"

Rider nodded gravely. It was really amazing how he could pull off putting different expressions on his face so quickly. Especially considering how most people didn't ever see any expression on his father's face.

The men in the room only took one look at each other before they all collapsed in fits of laughter. Sonny had to clutch the desk to stay upright – which quickly proved pointless, Jason fell to his knees and held his stomach, Rider fell to his back on the ground and Michael slid down the stairs before landing in a heap at the bottom.

It was just too much.

The door opened and the four of them knew they were in for it when Carly saw them. But, for their lives – literally – they couldn't put a plug in their laughter – even Jason, who had become a bit better with laughing since the birth of his son, but still was not one to collapse on the ground as he was currently doing.

Luckily for them it wasn't Carly.

Francis and Johnny fell into the room unceremoniously. "She just…oh god, she went out to her mother's." Johnny explained with much difficulty.

"We had…to get somewhere – somewhere…safe…to ahh." Was all that Francis could manage before he had to give up. Everyone else understood what the rest of the sentence was supposed to be, however, so it didn't really matter. The two guards had taken one look at Carly and had used all their will power to keep from laughing. "Wish…wish I had – your…Jason…neutral face."

From his position on the floor – kneeling on his knees, body doubled over so that his forehead was touching the ground – Jason shook his head frantically. "No – no way. Not even that could hold up against Carly's ass problems."

Jason's response renewed their laughter – not that it was running out.

The men tried to get themselves back to control, which was proving to be hard. But after a few minutes Sonny had gotten himself back under control, as did Johnny. "All right, Michael, you're grounded."

This sufficiently shut Michael up, though it only made Rider howl harder. "What? Dad, you thought it was funny. You can't ground me!" the red head cried indigently, though he had a very good point. It got the wheel's working in Michael's head. But Sonny didn't notice that, nobody did.

"I'm your father, so I can. As funny as it was, you shouldn't have done it." He sympathetically told his son as he patted him on the shoulder. "Rider's punishment is up to Jason though." He added skeptically. It wasn't likely that Rider would have much punishment at all. In fact, he might have to take Jason aside and explain to him the meaning of time out.

But Michael wasn't Carly Corinthos' son for nothing. "Okay, Daddy, you're right. I'll tell mom that you grounded me, and that it would have been done sooner if not for the fact that you were laughin' too hard to talk for awhile."

Sonny understood the sly threat and stopped moving towards the door instantly. After a second of silence, he caved. Nothing was worth his wife's wrath, especially not now when she was so pissed off. "Okay, we'll pretend that you're grounded when your mom is around."

"Much better." Michael said, sounding very pleased with himself. He jumped over the fallen form of Francis, who Johnny had yet to haul off the floor. Michael marched out the door and to his own penthouse. "Talk to ya later, Rider."

Before Sonny headed out, he shook his head heavenward. "If he doesn't act like Jason, he acts like Carly. I'll never win."

Francis had, by then, managed to pull himself together. Though Rider and Jason had not. The two guards sent a despairing look at the two blondes huddled at their feet. "Sad."

"Really pathetic." Johnny agreed with a shake of his head.

"Thanks for letting us use your penthouse, Jase."

"Yeah, but when Carly gets home we'll need a few minutes in here again though."

With that, they headed out. But Jason and Rider could barely say goodbye, let alone any response to the two men's promise to return.

After a few minutes, Rider looked up at Jason, who was now lying on his back breathing heavily and clutching his sides as though in pain. Only a few chuckles broke out every now and then. "Ahh, Daddy?"

"Yeah, Ri?" Jason asked. He turned his head to the side so he could look at his son.

Rider's forehead furrowed, "Am I grounded?" he asked slowly, and hoping that Jason wouldn't try to do what his Uncle Sonny had. Because he wouldn't have the same ammunition that Michael'd had. His father wouldn't care if Carly knew that he'd been laughing over her predicament. If anything her being angry with him would bring on some quiet bliss to Jason's life for a few days before they both got over it.

Jason appeared to look thoughtful for a second. "Do you want to be?"

"No way!" Rider cried out. It really was an obvious answer.

"Okay, then you won't be. Just promise that you won' paint any more toilets with anything and you won't be punished." Jason sternly told his son. He wasn't about to punish him, but he also wasn't about to tell him that it was all right to just go paint toilets with ink left and right.

Nodding, Rider accepted the terms. "Okay, I promise."

Seemingly satisfied Jason nodded and pulled himself up from the ground and then picked Rider up – upside down. The little boy giggled madly as Jason walked to the table holding him by his feet. Jason set him down so he was sitting on the top of the dining room table.

"So, Ri, what do you want to do today?" Jason asked with a smile. "We could go to the park, or to Kelly's, to the docks. Whatever you want."

The phone held up Rider's contemplating. Jason groaned and sent a glare full of hatred at the offending piece of electronics. "You want to get that?" he asked his son hopefully.

"I'm four. The only person who woulda called for me s'Michael, and he's at his house. Its for you." Rider stated quite dryly for a four year old, clearly not willing to go answer the phone for his father and then hand it over to him thirty seconds later.

Still annoyed, Jason picked the phone up. "What?" he barked into the phone.

"Nice way to greet people, Jason." Was the dry response from the other end. It was Monica.

"I'm not a phone person." Jason told her by way of an apology, though he knew she didn't really care how he answered his phone just as long as he didn't hang up on her. His voice did soften a little.

She laughed, "I'd gathered. Well, Jason, Alan and I wanted to know if you and Rider would like to meet us for dinner tonight."

Jason's eyebrows shot up and he paused for a second. Slowly, he asked, "And who would be there?"

"You, Rider, Emily, Lila, Alan and myself."

A safe guest list. The old man was not invited. "Um, let me see if Rider wants to." He said, and not pausing for an answer or to put his hand over the receiver. "Ri! You want to go to the Quartermaines tonight for dinner?"

"Sure!" Rider called back, they were both slightly yelling, even though they were in the same room.

Jason turned back to the phone, "Okay, we'll come." A sudden thought struck him. "If Elizabeth can come too."

Monica laughed again and Jason got the feeling that Emily kept her more informed then he knew about. "Of course she can. So we'll see you tonight around seven?"

"Okay."

Another pause filled the phone and Jason wondered if he should hang up. "Um…"

"Goodbye Jason, see you tonight." Monica answered, saving him from his wondering.

"Bye."

There was a click on the other side and Jason hung up the phone. He turned back to Rider. "Elizabeth's coming too, that okay?" he asked, mentally berating himself for not asking Rider first.

"That's okay. But what if she has something to do tonight?" Rider pointed out another obvious flaw to Jason's condition for their attendance. Something that only seemed to dawn on him when Rider pointed it out.

"Ahh…" Jason started. "I'll call her and ask now."

Nodding, Rider hopped down from the table that he was perched on. "Why don't you have her come over? You can talk an' I'll help Michael clean up the toilet."

"You guys have fun with that." Jason said with a frown. Toilet cleaning didn't sound like a fun activity. Which Jason was positive that Rider knew considering the eye roll he received. But nevertheless, Rider marched out the door and headed over to the toilet in question.

Which left Jason with a phone call to make.

------------------------------------Twenty Minutes Later

Elizabeth stepped out of the elevator and walked to Jason's door. She knocked and waited for him to come. There was no point in announcing who she was, as no one else came to his penthouse – generally out of fear. Besides, he knew it was her.

After a second Jason opened the door. "Hey." He quietly greeted her. Without waiting for a pleasantry to be returned, he leaned in and kissed her. Her hand worked its way up to the back of his head and the other to his shoulder. Jason wrapped his arms around her.

Within a minute they broke apart, still conscious of the fact that they were in a hallway. "If I get a greeting like that every time I come over, I'll visit three times a day." Elizabeth joked as he moved aside to let her in.

"Wow…"She muttered. "This is a change." An observation that was slightly obvious.

Nodding, Jason put his hands on his hips. "Yeah, it is. Carly did it before Rider and I got back."

"Speaking of the Morgan half of the 'Destructive Duo', where is he?" Elizabeth laughed. She had been quite surprised when Jason had told her about the term used for the Morgan/Corinthos pranking team – made up by the all-knowing bodyguards. "I don't sense any impeding pranking doom."

The mere memory of what had happened earlier was still fresh in Jason's mind. He burst out laughing and it took all his willpower not to collapse again. The look on Elizabeth's face wasn't helping matters either. After only a few seconds he got himself under control, because if he'd let it go on then he would be in real trouble and unable to stop. "Oh no, sorry, I was just remembering what they did this morning.

"What did they do this morning?" She asked, slowly and more than a little warily. She might not have known Rider long, but she'd heard more than enough about him to gather what range of pranks he could pull. And it was quite a broad range at that.

Jason just shook his head and refused to answer her. "I wanted to see if you were doing anything tonight?"

She decided to ignore the fact that he'd completely ignored her question and then changed the subject on top of that. "Nothing, why?"

"Um…well…Monica called." Jason started, looking down. He suddenly felt quite guilty for wrapping her up in his family meal. Suppose she didn't want to go? Or she felt she was obligated to, and said yes, but had an awful time. She could get angry with him for speaking for her without asking first. They'd only just gotten together.

Elizabeth sensed his uneasiness though. "Monica called and…?" She trailed off, hoping he would end her sentence for her. "What Jason?"

"She asked Rider and I to dinner with she, Alan, Emily and Lila." He explained quietly. "And I said I'd come if you could come. And of course she said it was all right. But I didn't even stop to think if you'd want to. I mean if you don't then its…" Jason rushed but she cut him off with another kiss - which he didn't exactly mind.

Once he appeared to be breathing a bit easier, Elizabeth pulled away. "Do I get a say before you apologize?" She asked, suppressing a giggle. But insides she was thrilled that she could have that effect on him. With time, she hoped, he wouldn't need to worry about anything concerning her. Short of pushing her away, there was little he could do to get her really angry.

Jason nodded and Elizabeth continued. "I'd love to come tonight. Don't worry about it." She assured him. After a quick though, she narrowed her eyes. "Though, I'm not sure you're Jason Morgan. The Jason Morgan I know isn't too fond of the Quartermaines. With the exception of naming his son after his father."

Rolling his eyes, it was clear that Jason had this conversation before. She could also tell that the reason behind Rider's naming wasn't going to be revealed anytime soon. Trudging to the couch, he flopped down onto it and motioned for her to join him. "I wasn't too fond of them. I went for that breakfast because Lila asked and because Rider had asked me if he had any grandparents. I felt…bad."

"Why?" she asked slowly. She leaned into Jason and laid her head on his shoulder. Jason easily wrapped his arm around her.

Without looking up, she could tell that he was shrugging. "He doesn't have grandparents on Isabella's side. My feeling at the time that he asked was that it was my parents or nothing. And he deserves more than nothing. I thought I at least should let him make up his own mind about them."

"And you went to the breakfast to let him make up his own mind. But along the way you saw that your views were pretty outdated?" Elizabeth summarized correctly.

Jason nodded, even though she wasn't looking at his motions. "Yeah, pretty much."

The short worded answer served to both annoy her and make her want to know more. "How so?" she asked, hoping that he'd open up on the subject. Trying to get Jason Morgan to talk when he didn't want to was like trying to lift cars over your head. Meaning, it was hard as hell. It was also a pretty big burden to carry once you'd done it and realized it was far heavier of a subject than you would originally have thought. Not to mention the fact that since it was so hard, many people decided it wasn't worth it and would walk away.

"They aren't looking for him anymore."

Yep, far more complex and frustrating then your normal person. If there was ever a more confusing answer, then she didn't want to know. "They aren't looking for who where?"

Sighing, Jason rephrased an answer. "Alan and Monica. When they used to look at me, they'd look in my eyes and pray that he'd look back at them. They were always so disappointed when there wasn't a glint of recognition. But when I saw them with Rider, they weren't looking for him when they looked at me."

"They were just happy to see you." Elizabeth finished quietly. She understood exactly what he meant now.

"Yeah."

"And you aren't used to that."

"No."

She wasn't sure whether she was supposed to laugh because of his one worded answers or strangle him. But, she decided to let him get away with it, much like she had when he changed the subject earlier. Besides, there was a far more pressing subject to attend to. Namely, he and his parent's relationship – or lack of relationship would be the actual situation. "Jason. That means they want to know you. Which is all good and well. But do you want to know them?"

He hesitated, as though he didn't know the answer. "I don't know." Was all he could come up with. Pretty much not the answer Elizabeth was looking for.

She took a deep breath. Family togetherness wasn't her forte. It never had been. But on top of that, it wasn't Sonny's or Carly's. It wasn't Bobbie's. And Emily was a Quartermaine, and they were no experts on family values either. There wasn't anyone else there who had a strong family life, except Rider and Michael probably. "I don't know what to tell you Jason. If we were talking about my parents, it would be easy to say that it's not worth it. Because I know, I know how they are. You haven't really got much of an idea how just Monica and Alan are. Without the added Quartermaines to stir things up between everyone else in the family" She paused, before continuing.

"I mean, you know Edward. I don't know if I'd run into a warm loving relationship with him, not that I think you'll get one either. Edward doesn't strike me as warm and loving with anyone but Lila." Elizabeth said with a chuckle, and she was pleased when Jason laughed too.

"Yeah, he isn't going to be playing the grandpa role any time soon. Not while I'm still a motorcycle riding, Sonny Corinthos befriending hellion." Jason dryly told her. "I don't think he's forgiven me yet for riding my motorcycle into the house, and that was years ago."

An eyebrow quirked at his statement and Elizabeth pulled away so she could look at him. "You rode your motorcycle into the Quartermaine Mansion?"

With a mischievous smile that matched Rider's when he was planning something, Jason responded. "Yeah. When I first got it. You should have seen the look on Edward's face." Jason looked into the distance thoughtfully. "Actually, you can see it. I'm pretty sure that Ned – I think even AJ – has a picture of it. Ned said he got it off the security tapes."

"I'll look into that." Elizabeth promised. "But the point is, Jason, they're your parents. They haven't done anything exceptionally wrong over the years. You might want to give it a chance, at least until you decide if you want to allow them into your life or not."

Nodding, Jason smiled at her. "All right, I'll do that." Then he added, "But you have to promise to start talking to your Gram again."

Lips pursed, Elizabeth practically growled, "Emily told you."

"Emily told you about Isabella." Jason pointed out. "And she appears to have told Monica all about us."

"She said that she and Lila have been waiting for it, which means she's been keeping Lila informed too." Elizabeth added.

Jason jumped in next. "Rider knew a lot about you before I even really explained you and me to him. And I doubt Michael knew that much on the subject."

They both looked at each other. Emily had been informing half the town of their lives and relationship. Jason smiled again, and then slyly added, "I'll talk to Rider and Michael."

"Speaking of Rider and Michael, why don't you tell me what they did? Or where Rider is now." Elizabeth asked again. The look on her face alone told Jason that he wasn't getting out of it again.

"Okay, but you have to turn around, if I see the look on your face while I explain it, I'll never get through it."

* * *

_There you go, I hope you enjoyed the liason! The Q's make their reappearance next chapter. _

_I found this half done in my old files, and decided to finish it up. I'm really just writing where the mood takes me with this, so there could be more chapters for my stories to come, or they could drop off all together. I really don't know. Also, formatting may be off, since I'm having uploading problems (anyone who read Shadowing Death saw that the story dropped off and an authors note was in the next paragraph, creating a pretty abrupt change, I do apologize for that, I do hope the italics come up now so there won't be confusion again). _

_In case anyone is interested in knowing, the chapter of Together is also around halfway to being finished, though I hit a block. My beta, Sam, is shouting insistantly for a chapter of What Could Have Been, so I might be forced into that one also. _

_Please, Review! _


	23. A Family Dinner

**Coming Home**: A Family Dinner

* * *

_Hey guys. Thanks for the reviews. Sorry for the wait!_

_Oh, and to everyone who's been wondering why Rider's middle name is Alan, you find out here._

---------------------------------Quartermaine Mansion

Emily survived the Quartermaine's new laid back attitude. It was a far cry from the last time Jason visited the house. She wasn't sure what to make of it. A major factor had to be that they just weren't as nervous. Anyone would think that it was just a normal family dinner.

Though, Monica and Alan's smiles were kind of giving away their excitement.

"No attention to every detail? No pre-dinner hyperventilation? No toys over-running the room?" Emily said mock amazement. She took an exaggerated look around the room. "I'm shocked and proud."

Her mother let out a half nervous laugh and waved her hand. "Jason said he was coming, he's coming. Besides, Elizabeth will be here too."

"You just want to see how they act around each other." Emily accused. Which was partly true. Monica had been hearing about them for so long, but she'd never actually seen them together for more than thirty seconds. She would be a liar if she tried to deny her curiosity.

Alan watched his daughter and wife banter back and forth and took a sigh of relief. The dinner would – hopefully – go off without a hitch. And if things got a little crazed or tense, Emily or Elizabeth could easily bail them out. Again, hopefully. "Oh stop it you too."

Emily turned around and sat down next to her father. "So, are you going to get Jason to tell you why Rider's name is Rider Alan?" she frowned. "I expected you'd ask during that breakfast."

"I didn't want to crowd him." Alan said slightly defensively. "And yes, I may ask tonight."

"He'd tell you." Emily assured him with a smile.

A voice came from the back of the room, making Emily jump in the air. "Who would tell him what?"

Elizabeth strode in the room with Jason and Rider trailing behind. Emily was almost beside herself to see that Rider was holding Elizabeth's hand and staying close to her. "Nothing, Liz. You'll guess later."

Jason walked over to Emily and the siblings gave each other a big hug. With Jason preoccupied for a second, Monica caught Rider's eye. She motioned over to the desk, where behind it there was a present being hidden from observant fathers. Rider grinned at her and then poked Elizabeth to show her. The brunette smiled down at the boy conspiratorially and winked. Jason noticed none of this. It was probably for the best.

"Jason!" Monica exclaimed, pretending as though she hadn't just been spoiling his son. She went to him and gave him a hug, relishing in the feeling of him returning it. It wasn't something a mother could get tired of, especially considering their circumstances.

Once greetings were exchanged, Jason had half expected an awkward silence to fall over them. Had it just been him, Alan and Monica, it might have – even if they were getting along now more than they had in his entire life. Emily, Elizabeth and Rider more than helped.

"What did you do today, Rider?" Alan asked, pulling Rider up onto his lap. The little boy leaned against his grandfather, contented for the time being.

Jason and Elizabeth sat next to each other on the couch, where they steadfastly ignored Emily's grin. Across from them, Monica and Emily took their own seats.

"Daddy and Lizzie and me went to the park." Rider responded, smiling and completely oblivious to his father and Aunt Emily as Jason glared at his sister's grin.

"Daddy _and_ Lizzie?" Emily asked, making Jason glare all the more.

Rider smiled and nodded enthusiastically. "Yep."

Elizabeth decided to change the subject, before Jason got really annoyed. "I was thinking of coming down to the hospital tomorrow," She directed to Alan. "For some volunteering."

"That's very nice of you, Elizabeth." Monica said approvingly.

"We could always use the help." Alan added.

Conversation moved on around them, with Jason occasionally adding in his part. Alan found himself withdrawing from the talk around him, content to just sit and watch.

There was truly nothing better, he was sure, than seeing his family together. He would someday hope that AJ could join them, making the occasion a real miracle. He wasn't holding his breath though, AJ and Jason were just too far apart at this point. A traitorous voice in the back of his head reminded him that a few years ago, or even a few months ago, he would have said the same about his own relationship with Jason.

That was while, all the more, he wondered about Rider's middle name. There was no reason that he could conceivably come up with as to why Jason would name his son after the father he seemed to hate. Their relationship was on the mend now, but not when Rider had been born. Had Rider's mother pushed for his name, or had it really been Jason's idea?

He was almost afraid to ask.

"Alan?"

Monica's questioning voice broke into his worrying thoughts. He glanced up at her and saw that everyone else had gotten up. Dinner must be ready. "Oh, I'm sorry Monica. I wasn't paying attention."

"That much was evident." Monica said while Emily smirked.

Alan sat up along with the rest of them. Rider had already slid off his lap and was holding onto his father's leg. Alan smiled at the pair. They all headed towards the doors but Alan hung back a second. Emily saw what he'd done and fought back a tiny smile. She nudged Jason and nodded to their father. Jason frowned, puzzled.

"Stay." She mouthed then started to walk off.

Jason turned to Alan, who was looking at his daughter's retreating back. "She did that on purpose." He muttered under his breath.

"Why?" Jason asked simply. He shifted his weight around, almost apprehensive. It wasn't that he was worried about being alone with Alan, because he wasn't. It was more that this was clearly planned. He was cornered.

"She knew that I wanted to ask you something, so she decided to force me into it." Alan said, watching Jason closely. He could tell that Jason wasn't wildly thrilled with the whole thing, so he pushed ahead before he lost the nerve. "Jason, Emily told me before you and Rider came home, that you named him Rider Alan. I'd be lying to say that I wouldn't love to know why."

Jason sighed and ran his hand over the back of his neck. Alan pressed a bit, "Did your wife want that?"

"No." Jason said shortly. "I did."

"If you don't mind telling…" Alan started, but Jason cut him off.

"I don't mind." Jason said. "I just don't know how to explain."

Alan smiled, "Well, try your best. I don't mind if it's a muddled explanation." He waited for a minute or so as Jason seemed to work out how he wanted to say things. Jason didn't have a way with words at the best of times, so he waited patiently for his son.

"I didn't understand." Jason finally started. "After the accident…" He broke off here and made an impatient noise. Alan smiled again, trying to be encouraging. It was nice to see this side of Jason, a little bit more vulnerable than he ever let people see. "After the accident I was someone else. I wasn't Jason Quartermaine and I tried really hard to make everyone understand that. I thought that once I did you would all leave me alone. I wasn't your son, so you wouldn't have any reason to want to be around me."

Alan felt the smile become more forced on his face. It pained him to know that his son thought that way. That he would just leave. Then again, hadn't he eventually? He never gave up hope, but he allowed himself to be pushed far out of his son's life.

"But you and Monica didn't really leave. You didn't push anymore, but you didn't really stop wanting to." Jason said, very easily summing up and simplifying his parent's actions during that time. "By then, I knew what love was. I loved Robin and I loved Sonny. So I thought it might just take you longer to really go away. When Robin left I thought I wouldn't be the same without her. I thought that was how you felt. With her, though, that feeling faded. If she needed me now, I know I would help her, but it would be more on, on principle sort of. Not because I love her anymore. It would be a weird obligation, I think. I care, but it wasn't that same feeling as before." Jason stopped there and turned to Alan. "Does that make sense?"

Alan nodded, "Quite a bit of sense." He said, trying to be encouraging. This was the most that Jason had said to him in one shot since the accident. In fact, there were a few years that he could add up to equal this speech and it wasn't even done yet.

"I thought that was how you felt, but you never looked like it was. I didn't understand that. I just… _couldn't_." Jason said, looking away. "Then Rider was born. I didn't think that it would be that strange for me, because I'd already sort of been Michael's father. It was though, it was so different. With Michael, I loved him more than anything, but I knew that he wasn't mine. Rider _was_ mine. I'd never felt anything like that. I would die for him, I would kill anyone for him, even someone I loved too. I don't think I could ever walk away from him, no matter what he," Jason stopped here. He looked back at Alan and looked at him in a way that Alan couldn't decipher. His voice grew quiet as he finished, "I couldn't walk away from him no matter what he did. He could push me away, he could hate me, and I'd still love him. He could murder the whole world, and I'd love him still – even if I didn't agree with what he was doing, I would still love him."

Alan choked back a small sob. "Jason…"

"I understood then. You and Monica…I got it." Jason whispered, "I didn't want to forget, so I named him after you."

---------------------------- The Dining Room

"How long do you think this could take?" Monica asked lightly. The three women and Rider were all seated at the table and were waiting for Alan and Jason to make their appearances.

Emily smiled, "Knowing Jason?" She asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Maybe we should just start eating," Elizabeth suggested. "Rider can, at least."

The boy watched the door intently, as if sensing how uncomfortable his father must be right at that moment. "I can wait." He said firmly and leaned back in his chair, as if putting space between himself and the plate would help strengthen his argument.

"No one minds if you start, Rider." Monica reassured the clearly tense little boy. "In fact, I think we'll all start eating." She gave a pointed look to Elizabeth and Emily.

Elizabeth smiled at Rider and picked up his plate, "How about some of this asparagus, huh?"

Rider turned up his nose, momentarily forgetting that he was nervous. "No, thank you." He said, sounding as though he wanted to use less polite language and was just barely holding back.

"Oh come on, just a few pieces?" Elizabeth wheedled. "Have you ever even had it?"

"Yeah, Rider," Emily chimed in, "I thought you and your father were brave with food!"

Rider looked a bit offended at the slight to his adventurous side. "It's green," He said as if that explained it all, "And it's all nasty on the top."

Elizabeth smiled at that and put two stalks of the vegetable in question onto the plate before moving onto other dishes. "Well, I'll put some right on the side, okay? If you feel brave enough later you can give it a try, but if not then no big deal."

"Excellently played, Elizabeth." Monica praised when Rider accepted that logic. She gave a knowing smile to Emily, who was barely suppressing a squeal of glee.

Elizabeth looked up to respond, but the doors opened and Jason and Alan walked in. Both looked as though the eight or nine minutes that they'd been in the other room were life changing and they were both unsure how to act now. Elizabeth placed Rider's plate in front of him before slipping a hand under the table to squeeze Jason's. He turned to her and gave her a tight smile. Across the table Monica was doing the same for Alan, who looked much more emotional than Jason.

"Daddy?" Rider asked, sounding worried.

Jason turned to his son and gave the boy a wink to try and make him feel better. "I'm okay, Ri."

"Really?"

Jason turned to Alan for a second before directing his gaze back to the little boy. "Really."

* * *

_Um, so, I'm horrible? I didn't want to let things go two full years, so I've tried quite hard to get this going. This chapter has (obviously) been a huge source of writer's block. I hope you all thought it was okay. _

_PLEASE! REVIEW! _


	24. Confrontation on the Docks

**Coming Home: **Confrontation on the Docks

--

_A big thank you to all of the reviewers! _

_This chapter takes place directly after the last. __**I'll remind everyone that this story is PG-13 (or whatever that turns out to be on the new rating system) and there is a bit of swearing in this chapter. **_

* * *

_-- The Docks_

"Again, again!"

There were a few phrases that would be repeated quite a bit over Rider's life that Jason was sure that he was going to come to dread, but he couldn't ever imagine a time when his son's excited cries to be thrown up in the air again and again were going to make that list.

And so, mindful of Rider's full stomach, Jason threw him up one last time. "I think that's all we can risk for now, Ri." Jason told his son when he returned the boy to his feet.

"No, I'm not gonna puke, I promise." Rider tried, sounding like he truly meant it.

Elizabeth laughed, "Let's wait and make sure that asparagus isn't going to haunt us, and then he can throw you around some more." Then, she _almost _blushed when Jason turned to give her some indecipherable look.

"Well, isn't this just a cozy little family scene."

Jason whirled around to see Ric Lansing, in all of his sneering glory, walking down the steps of the docks. Quickly, Jason reached down to pick Rider up again. With the little boy securely in his arms, he pulled on Elizabeth's hand. "Let's go."

"Oh, don't rush off because of me." Ric said, sounding so falsely polite that Jason longed to punch him. Again.

"Ric, just stop it, all right?" Elizabeth said, trying to defuse the situation. Nothing good could come of a confrontation here, right now. Especially since Rider was right there in Jason's arms, watching the whole thing with wide eyes. It wouldn't take a son so in tuned with his father's emotions long to figure out how _not _civil this situation was.

Ric smiled at her, leaving no doubt in anyone's mind that he was still obsessively attatched to her. "I'm just trying to make conversation, Elizabeth."

Elizabeth let her eyes stray to Jason and Rider. Whatever she said, she had to end this before it even started. "Look, Ric. I already told you, we're broken up. I'm with Jason now and -"

"You don't wait long, do you?" Ric cut her off angrily, "A slut like you probably couldn't wait -"

The second that insult came out of his mouth, Elizabeth and even Rider, who had no idea what that word meant, knew it had been the wrong thing to say. Jason pushed Rider into Elizabeth's arms in one fluid movement before either could even register that they'd been moved.

"Keep your mouth shut." Jason nearly growled in Ric's face. Elizabeth could see his fists nearly trembling. She was sure that if Rider wasn't there, Ric would already be unconcious in a heap on the ground.

Ric laughed, sounding so patronizing Elizabeth started to scan the docks for Francis. Jason wasn't going to put up with this long and if she could avoid a physical fight, that would really be best. Instead of seeing what Rider and Elizabeth did, though, Ric just kept running his mouth. "Or what, you'll shut it for me. Are you so brain-damaged that you can't come up with something more original?"

"Don't say that about my Dad!" Rider yelled, his little body tense in Elizabeth's hold.

Elizabeth shushed him but Jason didn't turn to look. "Elizabeth, go ahead with Rider."

"Jason," She started.

"Shut up, you fucking brat." Ric snarled at Rider the same time that Elizabeth had started to try and reason with Jason to go with them.

"Don't you ever," Jason yelled, slamming Ric up against the wall. "Speak to my son again." He finished, nearing a whisper.

Elizabeth had always considered Ric a reasonably intelligent man, considering he had become a lawyer, but to speak or even look directly at Jason after a final warning like that had to be the stupidest thing a man could do that she could possibly think up.

Ric lashed out, in what had to be the wimpiest way possible, and dug his hand into Jason's face, pushing him back.

"Stop, stop, stop!" Rider screamed. He wiggled around in Elizabeth's hold, demanding to be put down so he could go other there and theoretically break the fight up.

Elizabeth watched, helplessly clutching her boyfriend's son, as the two men fought. Ric was clearly trying his best but the fact that he'd apparently forgotten before he started this was that he was up against Jason Morgan, mob enforcer. In the flashes Elizabeth could see of Ric's face from behind Jason's body, she could tell that he was quickly starting to remember.

Then, like an angel in a dark suit, Francis barged into the fray. He pulled Jason back, no doubt saving the life of one Ric Lansing. Once Jason was pushed away, he grabbed Ric and started to drag him away. When Jason looked as though he wanted to follow, Marco came out and held him back. "Stop." The guard said simply.

"Daddy!" Rider yelled, just as he'd been doing the whole time.

That seemed to snap Jason out of whatever blind rage the "fucking brat" comment had put him in. He turned to stare at Rider and quickly crossed the space between them. Elizabeth passed the boy to his father, who hugged Rider as though they hadn't seen eachother in weeks.

Past the two of them, Elizabeth saw Marco mouth an apology to her. She carefully stepped around the Morgans to give them some privacy. "Why didn't you stop things sooner?"

"Sonny said to stay back as much as possible. If we had jumped in right away that would have made him want to try and lose us more often." Marco explained quietly. "But when it started to get to be obvious that he was really going to regret pounding the living hell out of that jerk..." He trailed off then, shrugging his shoulders.

Elizabeth nodded, but was already distracted by Jason, who was whispering something to Rider. The little boy looked as intense as his father did, but Elizabeth knew him well enough to read the fear in his eyes. She sighed, the entire fight had taken only a few minutes, but it's aftermath would be longer to end.

_-- Morgan Penthouse_

Jason watched his son as he smeared red paint all over the paper in front of him. Finger painting wasn't something Jason liked to allow for long, even more so now that they were in Port Charles and couldn't do the messy activity outside, but Rider had asked and...

He felt guilty.

Truly, when Ric had walked up to them the night before, Jason had intended to walk away. If it had been just him that Ric was insulting, it wouldn't have been an issue. Jason was used to being called brain-damaged and stupid. It had once annoyed him, because he had so wanted to prove that he wasn't but now it hardly registered in his mind.

When Ric had called Elizabeth a slut, then Rider a fucking brat, he'd almost snapped. Jason ran a hand down his face in disgust - he _had _snapped. He'd gone after that smarmy bastard right there, on the docks, in front of his son. After the last time that Rider had seen him get so wound up over something Lansing had said, he'd vowed not to let that happen again.

Jason closed his eyes, he could still feel his son trembling in his arms from the night before. Rider had been terrified and with good reason. He cursed himself, how could he have been so careless?

Lansing's attitude last night was almost as important. How could someone like Elizabeth be so blind to a man's flaws? It had always seemed to Jason that she saw him for exactly what he was, without even registering other people's perceptions of him. That she hadn't seen what a nasty man Ric was, meant one of two things - she really hadn't cared about him enough to look, which seemed unlikely considering she wasn't one to casually date, or Ric was a sick man who was good at hiding it.

That worried him.

If Lansing was nasty enough to say something like that to a child, what did that say about him in general? Jason had originally considered him to be just an annoyance, no one worth worrying over, but if he was so good at hiding that he was an utter bastard from Eilzabeth, then what other qualities could he be keeping from the surface?

"Daddy?"

Jason tried to turn his thoughts off as he went to sit on the ground next to his son. "Yeah, Ri?"

"What'er you thinkin' about?" Rider asked, cocking his head to the side. Jason was grateful that the boy only looked curious and not worried; at least he'd been able to keep his dark thoughts from showing on his face.

"You." He answered simply. It wasn't quite a lie, just not the whole truth. Jason didn't like lying to his son, but Isabella had made him realize that some lies are best for children. It hadn't come up with Michael, while he'd been the boy's father, but with Rider things were a little different. That was mostly because Rider could speak, where Michael was still too young before Jason had left. The Jason Morgan of six or so years ago would have hardly been able to consider seriously telling _anyone_ that Santa existed, but he'd done it so convincingly last Christmas that he'd felt a little dirty afterwards. This was just more of that and with an even better reason.

His half-truth got him what he wanted, however, and Rider's face lit up. "What about me?"

Jason smiled back, "I think you're going to have to invite Michael to finger paint with you sometime - in Uncle Sonny's apartment."

Rider grinned at that, "I don't think he'd like that."

"He probably wouldn't." Jason agreed easily. He watched quietly for a moment as Rider swirled in a bright yellow to his red shapes. "Rider, I want to talk to you about last night."

The child stopped for a second before going back to his painting. "I don't like that guy."

"I don't either," Jason admitted, "But I shouldn't have hit him."

"Why didcha then?" Rider asked. Somehow, it helped that Rider was still so engrossed in his art project. It shouldn't have, because the conversation was an important one, but Jason knew that he had Rider's full attention, even if the boy wasn't looking at him the whole time.

Jason answered his son's question as best he could, "Because I don't like him and because the things he called you and Elizabeth were very bad. I won't let anyone hurt you, Rider."

Rider was quiet for a moment and Jason allowed his son the chance to gather his thoughts. This couldn't be easy for a little boy to understand, but Rider was taking it well after that initial panic had faded.

"Mama said words can't hurt us."

The simple sentance was said so quietly that Jason wasn't even sure that Rider had spoken it. When the words registered in his mind, though, he knew he had. It sounded like the type of thing Isabella would have said to comfort their son. He ran his hand across Rider's face and brought the boy's eyes to meet his. "Mama was right, but sometimes, whether we let them or not, words _can _hurt." Jason said, just as quietly, "I didn't want him to say anything else to you."

"Why doesn't he like me?" Rider asked, sounding not quite upset, but certainly confused. Jason could understand that - his bright, wonderful boy was generally always loved, usually instantly. Such intense dislike was nothing that Rider had ever, or should have ever, encountered.

Jason thought carefully about his answer. "I don't think it's anything to do with you, really. Actually, I know it's nothing about you. I want you to understand that people are mean for no real reason sometimes, Rider. That man doesn't like you because he doesn't like me."

Rider seemed to accept that and Jason was glad that he didn't ask for anything deeper than what he'd come up with. Today wasn't the time for his little boy to have a realization that the people around him weren't all nice.

"Why doesn't he like you?" Rider asked finally.

Jason sighed, that was easier to answer. "He says he loves Elizabeth, but he doesn't. It's just that he can't have her."

"Because you have her." Rider said, sounding a little happier than he had a moment before.

"Because she doesn't want to be near him." Jason corrected gently. He couldn't help but feel profoundly grateful that his sister hadn't been around to hear that.

Rider swirled the paint around again, looking away from his father. Jason could see that he felt better after hearing that Lansing had gone after him through no fault of Rider's own. He felt another wave of guilt then, because he could have explained that last night. At the time he'd thought that all Rider needed was to be reassured that they were both fine and that man wasn't ever going to be near him again. That coupled with a good night's sleep would, he had thought, ease his son's mind. This conversation today was really only supposed to make sure of that, but he'd found out just another thing he'd done badly the night before.

Again, Jason vowed not to let Rider see that side of himself. This time, he truly meant it.

* * *

_I'm not so sure about this chapter, but I can't justify stalling after a full year. I know the chapter seems pointless, but trust me - it's laying groundwork for the ending. _

_And, a note to any readers here who also read Blind to Love. I've finished the next chapter for that story and will post it in a few days. _

_Please, REVIEW!_


	25. Sweet Like Chocolate

**Coming Home: **Sweet Like Chocolate

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_Gasp! It's a new chapter! _

_A big thanks to all of the reviewers and readers! There's some one on one liason here..._

_--------- Corinthos Apartment _

"And Jason actually went after him?" Sonny asked, running his hand over his eyes. Shaking his head, he walked over to the bar to pour himself a shot - it seemed like a story like this required one.

Francis nodded, "Lansing _did _call Elizabeth a slut and Rider a fucking brat." He pointed out. Clearly, Francis didn't find this nearly as surprising as Sonny did.

"But Jason hit him in front of Rider?" Sonny repeated.

"Yes, sir." Francis confirmed.

Sonny sighed, "You broke it up?" He asked and waited for his guard to nod. "How fast?"

"We waited until it really seemed like Jason was either going to really do damage to Lansing or Rider was going to get free of Elizabeth and take care of business." Francis answered, smiling a little.

Jason, Sonny knew, wasn't going to find his son's attitude there nearly as amusing as Francis did. After an incident like this, Sonny was hard pressed not to re-think his decision to keep Francis and Marco at bay as much as possible. Jason was more than capable of losing Francis if he was annoyed enough and they all knew it. If Jason was going to have a guard, then the rules needed to be different. One, the guard cannot be seen. Two, he can't interfere until absolutely necessary. Breaking up a simple fight between Jason and some guy that could never pose any threat to him was not absolutely necessary. Technically Francis had done the right thing to wait as he had, but Sonny didn't like it.

"Sir?" Francis asked, breaking his boss out of his thoughts.

"Yeah?" Sonny asked, suddenly feeling tired.

Francis watched him carefully. "Should we step in sooner if anything else happens?"

Sonny's preferred to say yes, but knew that wouldn't work. "No, keep back as much as possible. Jason can handle Lansing."

"Yes, sir." Francis confirmed. When Sonny said nothing to acknowledge him, he quietly left the penthouse.

Once Francis closed the door, Johnny leaned over. "How did he take it?" He asked in a hushed whisper.

Francis shrugged, "He's not happy, I think. If we could get Jason to promise not to lose me, Sonny would order me to get right in there, next time."

Johnny nodded his head to Jason's door. "Go grab Jason before Sonny throws something." He advised, proving he knew all of his boss' habits. Glass throwing when frustrated was one he'd been standing outside the door listening to for years.

_-------- Morgan Penthouse_

Jason watched Elizabeth reading to Rider with a small smile on his face. Inside, he felt much better than he had in a while. That Elizabeth and Rider were getting along so well was a relief.

He started when someone in the hall knocked on his door. Shaking his head to Elizabeth so she'd keep reading, he got up and answered. "Yeah?"

"I had to report to Sonny." Francis said without preamble.

Instantly, Jason knew the problem. He knew Sonny, after all, so how could he not? Glancing back at Elizabeth and Rider he waved his hand at his son and walked out with Francis. "Great." He answered, feeling strangely sarcastic.

"He's my boss, what did you want me to do?" Francis answered easily. They both knew that he'd had no choice, but that didn't make it easier on Jason.

Instead of answering, Jason just crossed the hall to Sonny's penthouse and opened the door without knocking. "Sonny?"

Sonny looked up from where he was sitting on the couch, the floor around him mercifully clean. The older man swirled his drink around in its cup, "Johnny moves fast."

Jason didn't bother telling him it had been Francis who'd realized that Sonny was less than pleased by Jason's fight. "Lansing isn't going to press charges." He said, honing in on what he knew Sonny's real problem was.

"How do you know?" Sonny snapped at him, downing the rest of the fiery liquid.

"It was provoked. What cop is going to haul me in for hitting a guy who called my son a fucking brat?" Jason asked, ignoring the dark look Sonny shot him.

"I can name a few." Sonny answered him. "And if Ric doesn't tell them that then _you'll_ be brought in to. Even if they release you, you'll be seen with policemen."

Jason sighed and sat down heavily across from Sonny. "I know that."

"You can't keep doing this." Sonny reminded him. "So what if he called Rider and Elizabeth nasty names? You cannot afford to be seen in the police station, Jason, end of story."

That annoyed him. Who was Sonny to say disrespect towards a man's family wasn't a cause for retribution? "And you'd have just stood there?"

Sensing his former enforcer's thoughts, Sonny gentled his voice, "There are other ways to defend them. You know that."

And Sonny was right, Jason knew. "I snapped. I didn't mean to." He answered finally.

The two sat in silence for a minute. Jason watched Sonny carefully, since the man seemed hesitant to say anything. Reluctantly, Sonny spoke, "If I get any idea that this could happen again, I'm going to instruct Francis to step in immediately if Ric Lansing shows up anywhere near you."

There was nothing constructive that Jason could say to that. Sonny knew he didn't like it, so what point was there in saying it? Besides, that wasn't what had him so worried. "He says he loves her, but..."

"Not all men respect the women they're with, Jason." Sonny said, waving a hand dismissively.

"I know that." Jason asserted, a little annoyed again. "The point is, Elizabeth wouldn't date a guy like that."

Sonny stood up and set his glass back down on the bar. Truth be told, he didn't think that there was anything particularly threatening about Ric Lansing. He'd seen that guy's type before, they thought that they were powerful and should be respected, but when it came down to it, all they had were fancy insults. "She wasn't with him long."

"She wouldn't be with some guy she barely knew." Jason defended Elizabeth.

Turning back to Jason, Sonny couldn't help the amused look on his face, "Just because you two danced around each other for years doesn't mean that's how she is with other guys."

Jason stood then too, when it was clear that Sonny didn't agree. "She wouldn't date a guy who could disrespect her like that or call some kid a fucking _anything _to his face." He repeated. "If she did then it's because - "

The phone on Sonny's desk rang and cut Jason off. Sonny put a hand on his friend's shoulder before he moved to get it, "Competition and being rejected bring the worst out in some guys. Leave it alone, Jason. You can't afford to bring that kind of trouble around."

Once Sonny was on the phone Jason turned and left the penthouse, his jaw clenched and not deterredat all.

_---- Morgan Penthouse, Meanwhile_

Elizabeth smiled as she listened to Rider read her the last page of the book. Though Jason's son liked to be read to, like all small children did, he also liked to read to whoever was handy, she'd learned. It amused her to pick out a book for her own reading time again, even though she hadn't done such a silly thing since she was little herself. Rider's determination to do it himself just reminded her all the more of Jason, and she'd be lying if she said she didn't love it.

"Lizzy?"

"Hmm?" She answered, stacking all of their reading material up on the table.

Rider slipped down off of her lap. "Can we go make hot chocolate?" Then, appearing to remember his manners he quickly rushed to add, "Please?"

Elizabeth turned to look at the door. Jason had disappeared only five or so minutes ago, so she wasn't sure when he'd back. She turned back to the expectant boy, ready to tell him that they had to wait for permission, but caught sight of his pleading expression. Oh god... "Sure." She answered slowly, without really meaning to.

He lit up happily and pulled her arm to get her up from the couch. "Lez' go!"

"Yes, _let's_." She agreed, teasing just a little.

Rider either didn't hear her or didn't care, his entire focus was on the ultimate hot chocolate goal. Once in the kitchen, he pulled a chair from the counter and quickly scrambled up it to open a cabinet. Elizabeth moved behind him quickly, reading to catch him if he needed it. She couldn't imagine Jason Morgan's son had a whole lot of experience in a kitchen, but the boy seemed to be managing himself fine.

"Could you get some cups, Auntie Lizzy? I'm not 'llowed to get the ones that break." Rider explained seriously as he pointed to an opposite cabinet.

As Rider searched through the cabinet for the hot chocolate mix, she stared at his back, a little dumbstruck. Auntie Lizzy? Never in her life had she been close enough to a child to be considered an aunt. Aunt, of course, wasn't quite what she was going for, but that he'd just said it, without any prompting that she knew of, sparked some strange feeling that she'd never quite felt before. She _loved_ this boy…

"Aunt Lizzy?" Rider asked, for what seemed to be a second or third time. "Did you hear me?"

"Sure, Rider." She answered a little absently, "I'll get them for you."

Rider tilted his head to look at her seriously, "Are you okay?"

She smiled then, "Absolutely perfect."

---------

"Three stories, a sip of water, a bathroom break and four kisses." Jason reported quietly as he sank into the couch next to Elizabeth.

Elizabeth grinned, "If Taggert could see you now…"

Jason couldn't help but roll his eyes. "I have a son, he has a bedtime." Then shrugged in a way that clearly meant, _What can you do? _"What did you two do while I was with Sonny?"

Elizabeth flushed a little guiltily, "Hot chocolate." She confessed.

"I know, he told me." Jason smiled, seemingly pleased that she'd so readily answered. "He thought it was great."

"I aim to please." She said, and leaned in to give him a quick kiss, feeling strangely bold about the whole situation. Jason grinned, and she cut him off quickly, "No comments from you."

"I wasn't going to say anything." Jason said sincerely, and she could see how, with Jason Morgan, that might just be the truth. They sat quietly for a minute, before Jason said, "He said you went daydreaming for a minute."

She smiled at Rider's choice of words, "He said something that startled me." She admitted and when Jason turned to look at her, concern in his blue eyes, she added, "He called me Aunt Lizzy."

Jason was silent for a second. Slowly, he answered, "Do you want me to talk to him?"

"What? No, why?" She asked quickly, "Would you prefer he doesn't?"

Jason shifted on the couch to face her completely, "No, I think it's a good thing, but if it makes you uncomfortable…"

"Absolutely not." She quickly, reassured him, taking his hand. "I, well," She looked down for a split second, remembering her realization after he'd christened her with her new name. She felt Jason squeeze her hand. "I think it's a good thing, too." She finished a little lamely.

He nodded then and put his free hand to her cheek. "Then I won't say anything."

Jason pulled her close for another kiss and that was the end of any and all conversation.

* * *

_I wasn't entirely sure how to end this, but hey, kissing always works, right? I hope everyone liked the update, even if they're never quite worth the wait. _

_I hope you'll all review, though! _


	26. Impressions

**Coming Home: **Impressions

---------

_Thanks again to my amazing, wildly patient, reviewers. You guys rock. _

_

* * *

  
_

_----------- Studio Building_

Ric eyed the industrial door to Elizabeth's studio with distaste. He'd been amused before, when he didn't know how she'd gotten it. Now, it was another reminder of her betrayal and of Morgan's gloating victory.

He wasn't sure why he was standing there. Elizabeth had a shift at Kelly's today, and wouldn't be in her studio. She wasn't often there anyway, even when they'd been dating. He'd done his research, however, and knew the symbolic, disgusting meaning to her studio; why she kept it even though she barely painted anymore. It was her little love nest with a mobster, a place to stash him away when his enemies gunned him down. If that wasn't a sick start to a relationship then he didn't know what was.

He sighed and glanced down at his watch. There was no point in staying around and staring at an empty door. Not when Morgan could have one of his cronies stop by to patrol for Elizabeth's safety, or worse, visit himself. Especially not when he had what he needed to set his revenge in motion.

Ric grinned, running his hand along the canister with the building's blueprints in it and tightening his hand around the folder with the rest of the information on the building. Fire codes, building inspections… everything he needed.

She'd regret leaving him for a brain damaged mob lackey.

He would make sure of it.

------------- _Kelly's _

"Not that Emily isn't really great with kids, but I don't know if I'd trust her and Rider alone together with time to plot. We might end up locked in a room somewhere, just for the fun of it." Elizabeth teased, setting down Jason's cup of black coffee in front of him.

"She volunteered." He said simply before he sipped the hot coffee.

Elizabeth smiled, "Just as long as you're aware of the danger."

He nodded his head once, a shadow of a grin on his face. "If getting locked up with you is the consequence…" He trailed off, but the intent was clear.

"That, Jason Morgan, is just one possible outcome. Who knows what Emily might find amusing?" She asked, smiling all the same. True, she wouldn't mind one bit if Emily decided to get Rider to help her throw them together for some alone time, but if his aunt turned him into a little matchmaker…

"When do you get off?" Jason asked, getting her attention again. He'd been nearly smiling only seconds before, which for Jason, in public, was like a face-splitting grin, but now he looked tense.

She frowned, "A couple of hours. Why?"

"I needed to talk to you about Ric." He said, sounding reluctant. "It can wait."

Shaking her head, Elizabeth leaned forward on the counter. "We're pretty slow right now, Jason. Ask me."

He glanced around quickly and saw she was right. Aside from two women clearly in the middle of Carly's dream day of shopping and gossip, they were alone. He didn't want to push Elizabeth, especially considering what Sonny had warned him about with the police, but if Lansing was a threat or at least, more of a threat than they'd originally thought… "How well did you know Ric before you started seeing him?"

Elizabeth smiled grimly. "I was waiting for this." Off of his look, she added, "I know you, Jason. You seem to think pretty highly of me, but I was stupid to even consider Ric Lansing. My judgment was off. Completely off."

"I don't think highly of you," Jason answered, "I just… I know you, too."

"That's sweet." Elizabeth admitted. It was certainly better than the idea of someone who thought she could do no wrong. There had been an element of that with her relationship with Lucky. She should have known, however, that Jason didn't pay flattery to anyone. If she had to pick one person in the world to most accurately assess her, she would have to pick Jason. "Still, I didn't know Ric too well, but he seemed nice and he was new in town, so…"

Jason narrowed his eyes, waiting for her to finish that sentence. Elizabeth saw what he wanted and grudgingly continued, "There's something to be said for someone who knows your history, but there's also something to be said for a nice, successful guy who doesn't know anything more about you than what you want him to. Make sense?"

Perhaps because he fell into the first category and new what sort of history Elizabeth was talking about or maybe because he had that problem himself, Jason found that what Elizabeth said definitely made sense. He nodded.

"He came into Kelly's at first, and we talked over orders. He asked me out, I accepted. We dated pretty casually for a few months. There's not a lot to tell." Elizabeth finished. The doors to Kelly's opened and a family came in. Elizabeth grabbed some menus and went over to greet the new customers, no words to Jason needed.

It gave him a chance to think about what Elizabeth had said. Sonny was right in this, it seemed. Elizabeth had started seeing someone who she'd thought was nice, after he asked her out. There wasn't going to be a lot to go on there, but then with Ric being new in town, he wouldn't have thought there would have been. Lansing seemed way more into the relationship than she did. It explained why he was taking thing so hard, considering the relationship had been fairly new. Still, to be so angry over a few months of seemingly sporadic dates was off, no matter what Sonny said.

Elizabeth came back around the counter, clearly giving the people out front a chance to look over the menus. "Honestly, Jason," She picked back up, "I didn't know him that well. If I'd have known how nasty he could be, I wouldn't have dated him, but I didn't really see that side of him."

"Okay." Jason answered absently.

"You're worried." She stated, eyeing him carefully.

He nodded his head to the side, acknowledging that without saying it. "I want to be sure he's not a threat to anyone."

"A threat to Jason Morgan?" Elizabeth asked, giving him a once over with her eyes. "I don't think so."

Jason looked down briefly, smiling. "I meant to you or Rider."

Another couple came in through the doors, and Elizabeth hesitated. "Maybe it's time to go relieve Emily before you and I need to start watching our backs. Things seem like they're picking up here anyway."

"I'll see you tonight, then." Jason stood, smirking. "I pick, remember?"

Elizabeth groaned, only half serious. She'd been the one to suggest a normal 'date night' but she hadn't quite dreamed that Jason would insist on choosing where they'd go. She trusted him, but wasn't entirely sure that her idea of a date and his matched up. "I remember."

"Worried?" He asked, not sounding the least bit comforting.

"Curious." She countered as she stole a kiss.

"Rider is jealous." Jason told her as he turned to leave. "He says you promised him a day at your studio."

Elizabeth shook her head and smiled, "I did, but tell him that Daddy gets first date dibs. He and I can have a day at my studio another night."

"Oh, I did." Jason promised. "Rider will just have to wait."

Nudging his shoulder, Elizabeth pushed him towards the door. "See you later."

* * *

_I'm sure everyone can see where I'm heading here. Please, review!_


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